Abhainn Dearg Distillery: The Red River Stills Modelled on an Illicit Original

Abhainn Dearg is Gaelic for Red River, and the name belongs to a small distillery at Carnish, near Uig on the Atlantic coast of the Isle of Lewis. Mark Tayburn, a local businessman, founded it in 2008 in a former salmon hatchery. The distillery describes itself as the first legal whisky distillery in the Outer Hebrides since 1829.

Abhainn Dearg at a glance

History of Abhainn Dearg

Tayburn set up the distillery at Carnish in 2008, converting a salmon hatchery on the west coast of Lewis, and production began in September that year.

According to the distillery, the first spirit to leave the island in 2010 was two small casks of new make, one sent to Germany and the other to a bar in Glasgow. A limited bottling called The Spirit of Lewis followed and sold quickly. The first single malt, a limited three-year-old, was released in 2011, and a ten-year-old single malt, matured in ex-bourbon casks, has since joined the range.

How Abhainn Dearg makes its whisky

The distillery has two copper stills, one for the wash and one for the spirit, and can make up to 20,000 litres of spirit a year. Their shape follows the illicit stills that were once worked in the area, an unusual design for a modern distillery. The water comes from Loch Raonasgail by way of the Abhainn Dearg, the Red River that gives the place its name, and the distillery says its barley is grown at Goathill Farm, Melbost, on Lewis.

Maturation is mainly in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, with some ex-sherry casks.

Abhainn Dearg and independent bottlers

With capacity this small, there is very little spirit to share around, and the distillery's own releases account for most of what is on sale. Anyone hoping to find a cask of Abhainn Dearg on an independent bottler's list should expect a short one.

Abhainn Dearg and The Single Cask

We do not currently list Abhainn Dearg casks. If the style or the Hebridean story interests you, tell us what you are looking for and we will say honestly what we can and cannot source.

Plan a bottling inspired by Abhainn Dearg

A distillery built in a salmon hatchery on the edge of the Atlantic, with stills modelled on illicit originals, is the kind of story that gives a label real character. If an island bottling appeals, use our cask enquiry page to tell us your preferred style, age and budget, or read about buying a whisky cask and the four steps to bottling your own whisky. For something under your own name, our private label whisky service covers that end to end. For more island whisky, see our guides to Isle of Harris, Isle of Raasay and Torabhaig.

If you are an independent bottler looking for stock, or you have always wanted a cask of your own, talk to us about what we currently hold in the warehouse. Where we do not hold the distillery featured in a guide, we say so plainly.

If you have questions about any of this, or about Abhainn Dearg in particular, our contact page is the fastest way to reach us.

Frequently asked questions

What does Abhainn Dearg mean?

It is Gaelic for Red River, and the distillery takes its water from Loch Raonasgail by way of the river of that name.

Who owns Abhainn Dearg?

Mark Tayburn, a local businessman who founded the distillery in 2008.

Where is Abhainn Dearg?

At Carnish, near Uig, on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

How much can Abhainn Dearg produce?

Up to 20,000 litres of spirit a year from two copper stills.

Does The Single Cask sell an Abhainn Dearg cask?

We do not currently list Abhainn Dearg casks. Tell us what you are looking for and we will say honestly what we can and cannot source.