North Uist Distillery

North Uist Distillery is a family run, carbon neutral gin and whisky distillery that was launched in 2019 when co-founders Kate Macdonald and Jonny Ingledew returned to the island they grew up on with a dream of bringing (legal) whisky distillation back to their Hebridean home.

Their multi-award winning Downpour gin range is produced in Uist with local botanicals such as heather, pepper dulse seaweed, and wild thyme. Foraged by members of the community, these botanicals are swapped for gin in the age-old island tradition of bartering, and create a big bold spirit that is drenched in island flavour.  

Following the fastest cask sale in Scotch whisky history, production of single malt whisky began at the end of 2024 and the first casks have been laid down. North Uist Distillery’s whisky will be made with bere barley, a heritage grain that has been grown by local crofters for centuries on Uist’s machair, and plans to build a malting plant at Nunton are underway, ensuring a single malt whisky that is deeply rooted in island spirit.  

Their visitor centre at Benbecula’s historic Nunton Steadings is open 7 days a week during the summer, with twice daily tours and tastings of both the Downpour range and their new make spirit. The Downpour shop features a refill station where visitors can bring their empty bottles, and the Island Life Bar serves a range of cold drinks which can be enjoyed in the sunny courtyard of the steadings building, a stone’s throw from the white sand beach of Culla Bay.  

North Uist Distillery is B Corp certified and carbon neutral. Now a team of twelve people, North Uist Distillery was named Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and Scottish Gin Tourism Destination 2024.