Distillery
Single malt Scotch whisky. Distilled slowly, aged honestly, bottled without apology.
Highland, Scotland · Est. 2009
The Distillery
"We make whisky the way it has always been made — slowly, with patience, and with the knowledge that the person who drinks it may not have been born when we filled the cask."— Callum Ross, Master Distiller
Forge Distillery sits at the edge of a Highland glen, where the air carries peat smoke and the water runs cold and clear from the mountains. We have been making whisky here since 2009, and in that time we have learned one thing above all others: patience is not a virtue in this trade. It is a requirement.
We use only the finest Scottish barley, open wooden washbacks for fermentation, and our original pair of copper pot stills — installed in 1996, shaped over decades into exactly the right vessel for the spirit we want to make. We do not rush. We do not cut corners. We do not add colouring or chill filter our whisky.
What you taste in a bottle of Forge is fifteen years of practice, a landscape, and an honest commitment to getting it right.
Our Whiskies
Five whiskies. One distillery. No compromise.
Our entry point into the Forge family. Matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks for a full decade, this is a whisky that rewards those coming to single malt for the first time without shortchanging those who know what they are looking for. Vanilla, warm honey, a thread of gentle Highland smoke, and a clean, lingering finish.
Fifteen years in first-fill oloroso sherry butts sourced from Jerez. This is Forge at its most generous — dark dried fruit, Christmas cake spice, stem ginger in syrup, and a warming, plush mouthfeel that carries through a very long finish. The whisky that made our reputation at competition.
Eighteen years. Our finest standard expression, and the one we are most proud of. Complex in the way that only time can make a whisky complex — layers of oak, dried apricot, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, and a finish that lasts long enough to change your mind about something. Not a whisky for hurrying.
Heavily peated malt, Islay-influenced, Highland made. We bring in peated barley from Speyside and run it through our stills — a different beast to our standard range. Medicinal, maritime, brine and bonfire, with the distillery's characteristic sweetness holding it together underneath. For those who know what they want.
Bottled at cask strength — typically 58–62% ABV — exactly as it comes from the barrel. No chill filtration, no dilution, no interference. Add a few drops of cold water if you wish; that is entirely your prerogative. The full Forge character, unmediated. Not for the faint-hearted, but deeply rewarding for the committed.
A single cask, filled on 14th March 2004. First-fill Pedro Ximénez butt, 63.1% ABV, 214 bottles. The cask number, date of distillation, and bottle number appear on every label. When it is gone, it is gone — we will not make another bottle of this particular whisky, ever. This is what distillery exclusives are for.
The Distillery
The copper stills — 1996 original
Dunnage warehouse — 4,000 casks
The Highland distillery
Nosing room — cask selection
Bottling line — hand-filled
Visitor centre — tasting room
The Craft
Four individuals. One shared obsession.
Master Distiller
Head of Maturation
Distillery Manager
Brand & Visitor Experience
How It's Made
No shortcuts. No approximations. Just the process.
01
Scottish barley is steeped, germinated and dried over a peat fire to halt germination. The malted grain is milled and combined with Highland spring water in our traditional cast iron mash tun. Slow stirring over several hours converts the grain's starches to fermentable sugars, producing a clear, sweet wort — the foundation of everything that follows.
02
The wort is cooled and transferred to our open-topped Oregon pine washbacks, where distillery yeast is added. Fermentation runs for a minimum of 72 hours — longer than most — producing a beer-like wash of around 8% ABV. The extended fermentation develops complexity and the fruity esters that distinguish our spirit character from the first distillation run.
03
The wash enters our original 1996 copper pot still — the wash still — for the first distillation, producing a low wines spirit of around 25% ABV. The second distillation in the spirit still concentrates the alcohol and, critically, allows our stillman to make the cuts — foreshots, hearts and feints — that define the character of the new make spirit we send to cask.
04
New make spirit is filled into oak casks — ex-bourbon barrels, first-fill sherry butts, and occasional specialty casks — and laid down in our traditional dunnage warehouse, where cool, damp Highland air moderates the temperature year-round. Fiona leads every cask review. When a cask is ready, it is vatted, reduced to bottling strength with the same spring water used in production, and bottled unfined, without chill filtration.
What People Say
"The Forge 18 is, without question, one of the finest Highland expressions I have encountered in two decades of tasting. Complex without being showy. Patient whisky from patient people. It earns its price and then some."
Michael Forsythe
The Whisky Exchange — Tasting Notes, 2024
"Forge is what happens when a small distillery refuses to compromise and somehow survives long enough to be vindicated. The Cask Strength is a genuine revelation at the price — more character per pound than almost anything else in this category."
Edinburgh Malt & Spirit Review
Annual Awards Issue, Winter 2023
"I came to Forge Distillery expecting a pleasant afternoon and left with a case of the 15 and a new understanding of what maturation actually means. The tour alone is worth the journey north. Go if you can. Buy the whisky while you're there."
Sarah Kinnaird
Whisky Advocate Contributor, member since 2018
Highland, Scotland
Tours of the full production facility. Guided tastings. Direct access to our warehouse and bottling store. You'll leave with a better understanding of whisky than most people ever get.
Distillery tours run Tue–Sun · 10am–4pm · Booking recommended
Or call us: +44 (0)1463 000 000