Annandale Distillery

Annandale is one of the most interesting distilleries to come back to life in Scotland. It stands in the town of Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, close to the English border, and it first made whisky in 1836. It then fell silent for around a hundred years, until a private owner bought the derelict buildings and began distilling again in 2014. It is also one of the few independent distilleries in the Lowlands, and it makes both an unpeated and a peated single malt. If you want to see what a modern Lowland distillery can do beyond the light, grassy style the region is known for, this is a good place to start.

Who owns Annandale?

Annandale is owned by David Thomson and Teresa Church, who bought the site in 2007 through the Annandale Distillery Company. It is an independent, privately owned distillery, which makes it unusual in a region where most of the other distilleries belong to large groups. We found no sign of a sale or change of ownership, but we recommend checking the distillery’s website for the latest.

For the wider picture of which company owns which whisky, see our guide to who owns what in whisky. Annandale is also part of the story we tell in Scotland’s new wave of distilleries.

The history of Annandale Distillery

Annandale was founded in 1836 by George Donald, and later passed to Johnnie Walker, the Kilmarnock firm, which used its whisky in blends. The distillery stopped making whisky around the end of the First World War, and the buildings were left to decay for many decades.

David Thomson and Teresa Church bought the derelict site in 2007 and spent years restoring the old buildings. They fitted a new, modern distillery inside them, with a plant designed by the late Dr Jim Swan, one of the best-known figures in whisky production. Distilling restarted in 2014, and the first whisky was released in the following years. To place Annandale among its neighbours, read our guide to independent bottlers and the Lowland region.

How Annandale is made

Annandale makes whisky from malted barley, water and yeast. What is unusual is that it produces two separate styles under two names, using the same equipment. Man O’Words is unpeated and Man O’Sword is peated. Our guide to how peat works in whisky explains the difference. The spirit is distilled in copper pot stills and is matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, along with other cask types. For the wider context, see how whisky is made.

What do Man O’Words and Man O’Sword mean?

Both names are tied to local history. Man O’Words is named after Robert Burns, the poet, who lived and worked in this part of Dumfriesshire. Man O’Sword is named after Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king who was also Lord of Annandale. The two names make it easy to tell the unpeated and peated whiskies apart.

The Annandale range

Annandale is young, so the range is still taking shape. The bottlings you are most likely to see are:

• Man O’Words, the unpeated style: lighter, fruitier and sweeter, in single cask and small batch releases. See our note on sherry cask versus bourbon cask.
• Man O’Sword, the peated style: smoky but not as heavy as the Islay names. Read our Annandale Man O’Sword review.
• 10 Year Old single casks, the first age-statement releases, which came out in 2025 in both styles. See our note on age statements versus NAS.
• Cask strength and private cask releases, including whisky from casks that owners can buy through the distillery. See our guide to cask strength whisky.

For comparison, try our reviews of other Lowland malts, Glenkinchie 12 and Auchentoshan 12, which show the lighter, more traditional style of the region. Our note on peated whisky covers the smoky side.

How to drink Annandale

Annandale is best taken neat, or with a few drops of water, to bring out the fruit and the smoke. The unpeated Man O’Words works well as a first single malt for people who want something gentle, and the peated Man O’Sword is a good way to try smoke without going straight to Islay. Because most bottlings are limited single casks, it is worth checking the strength on each label.

Visiting Annandale Distillery in Dumfries and Galloway

The distillery stands in the centre of Annan, an easy drive from the English border and from Carlisle and Dumfries, which makes it one of the more accessible Scottish distilleries if you are travelling by road. It has a visitor centre, and tours show the old buildings next to the modern still house. Check the distillery website for the current tour list, prices and opening hours, and book ahead in summer.

Annandale: quick answers