While Its Single Malt Matures, The Cairns Distillery Offers a Glimpse into The Future

When Gordon & MacPhail opened The Cairn Distillery in 2022, it wasn’t simply unveiling a new production site. It was a declaration of a long-term vision for the company, marking the beginning of a significant change in direction. Set on the northern edge of the Cairngorms National Park overlooking the River Spey, this modern distillery was designed as a counterpoint to the traditional handcrafted ethos of Benromach, the company’s first distillery. There, The Cairn makes unpeated, medium-bodied Speyside single malt, not due for launch until it’s 12 years old, with a flavor profile designed to resonate with global consumers in emerging markets.

While most Scottish distilleries are named after their location, the thinking behind the new distillery’s name was different. A cairn is a stack of stones used as a landmark or way marker, and the distillery echoes this idea architecturally—much of it is constructed from natural stone. Climbers often add a stone to a cairn upon reaching the summit of a mountain, adding to the structure begun generations ago and helping to show the way for those who follow in their footsteps. Set in the heart of scotch whisky country, amid some of the UK’s highest mountains and the rugged natural beauty of the Cairngorms, it’s a fitting distillery name for this multi-generational family company. With a desire to fit into the local landscape and promote sound environmental practice, the distillery was constructed in a circular shape with a sedum roof—a living, green roof—that supports pollinators and encourages biodiversity, while the project team planted aspen trees and put up nestboxes for Goldeneye ducks along the river, and created wildflower and wetlands areas.

Open for tours, after the introductory presentation, you cross a raised walkway that spans the lobby, leading to the distillery. Along the way, you pass through the Time Wheel, a circular, Kubrickesque tunnel with a wraparound digital display—evocative of the space station from “2001: A Space Odyssey”—which projects the distillery’s vision for future releases across the rest of the century. According to the time wheel, the inaugural single malt will debut in 2034, and then the projections go further into the future.

Each step of the whisky-making process reveals itself as you walk clockwise through the curved, open floor plan production area. The rural location also has abundant supplies of naturally filtered water.

The Cairn is currently producing five days a week, laying down 1 million liters of alcohol (lpa) a year, though the site has a potential capacity of 2.2 million lpa if working 24/7. Unpeated malt from a couple of local maltsters is used, with a focus on high-yield modern barley varieties such as Laureate and Sassy. Once the malt has passed through the Bühler mill, it goes into the full lauter tun, which accommodates a 4.75-ton mash, from which they draw off a clear wort. Each stainless-steel washback is fitted with a water jacket, giving the distillers greater control over fermentation temperatures and future-proofing the distillery to handle hotter summers in the decades ahead. There are six washbacks in total, with space to install six more if the distillery needs to expand. Fermentation times of 90–100 hours create a characteristic Speyside flavor profile, bright with ripe orchard fruits and fresh grassy notes. Moving to the copper pot stills, The Cairn has four wash stills and two spirit stills. The contents of one washback go into two wash stills, then the low wines are combined for the second distillation in the spirit still. Seeking a medium-bodied spirit without a lot of copper contact, Forsyths installed onion-shaped copper pot stills with slightly downward sloping lyne arms connected to shell and tube condensers, with the spirit running into a striking three-sided spirit safe. The large windows in the still house enable visitors inside to enjoy the magnificent view toward the river and mountains, while passing traffic can easily spot the gleaming copper stills from the road, day or night. The Cairn fills European oak sherry hogsheads and butts, toasted, charred, and seasoned to Gordon & MacPhail’s specifications, with bourbon barrels brought in from Kentucky. Around half of the new make spirit is matured in first-fill casks and transported to warehousing at Benromach for maturation: cask No.1, a sherry butt, was filled on May 27^th 2022.

The distillery marks a new chapter in the history of Gordon & MacPhail. While the company will remain a leading independent bottler for many years to come, Gordon & MacPhail announced in 2023 that it planned to halt new make fillings from non-company distilleries. To fill the gap until The Cairn 12 year old release, the 130 year old independent bottler-turned distillery has introduced CRN57^o, a new range of blended malts designed as a glimpse ahead to The Cairn’s signature flavors. Showcasing ultra-aged expressions unprecedented in the blended malt space, the collection spans from the non-age statement Vision to an extraordinary 70 year old, the oldest blended malt ever released. Whisky maker Stuart Urquhart has drawn on Gordon & MacPhail’s vast library of mature casks to create whiskies for every budget, celebrating the company’s heritage while raising a glass to the future. Here are our thoughts and tasting notes on every expression in the new range:

89 points - CRN57^o Vision, 43%, $40

Bright, attractive blend with a nose of lemon frosted cupcakes, apple blossom, vanilla, and a hint of marmalade, with notes of sherbet, gooseberry, and Love Hearts candy. Light-bodied and juicy in the mouth, with fresh raspberries, cream, zesty lime, green apple, and pepper, moving on to ripe fig, aniseed balls, Refreshers, lemon throat lozenges, and orange soda. A refreshing and zesty finish with lemon flavors and gentle spices.

89 points - CRN57^o 18 year old, 43%, $100

This has an aroma that will put anyone in an autumnal mood, with its notes of baked plum, raisins, baking spices, dried fig, and crème de cassis. The palate delivers honeyed richness balanced by vivid red fruits—raspberry, strawberry, and redcurrant—while a lively peppery tingle enlivens the tongue. A touch of sour fruit and citrus adds intrigue before the finish turns dry, lingering on spiced apple.

92 points - CRN57^o 25 year old, 43%, $200

Nougat, almonds, honeycomb, pineapple cubes, citrus peel, gentle oak, and subtle wood spices on the nose. Sliced apple sharpness initially on first sip, with golden syrup, pineapple cubes, and gentle spices on this medium-weight blend, then deep tropical fruit flavors coat the mouth with mango and dried apricot flavors, ebbing away with a soft, subtle finish of dried stone fruits, supple oak, and a hint of clove.

93 points - CRN57^o 30 year old, 51.9%, $400

Possibly the best bang for buck in this range, the nose has aromas of leather, dunnage, treacle, and ripening brambles, underpinned by savory aged balsamic vinegar notes and motor oil. A beautifully sherried dram, it’s smooth and thick textured, with fruitcake, red apple, cherry, and dark caramel. The higher proof helps the spices to hit differently from the other CRN57^o releases, contributing to the licorice, red fruit, and spicy finish.

88 points - CRN57^o 40 year old, 43%, $600

New leather, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, orange peel soaked in oloroso sherry, medjool dates, dried vine fruit, and polished antique wood make for an indulgent range of aromas on the nose. The palate begins with bitter dark chocolate, walnut, tobacco, stewed fruits, and pepper, but there’s a lack of sweetness and the oak tannins become overpowering. The finish remains oaky, with wood spices, tobacco leaf, and Brazil nut.

91 points - CRN57^o 57 year old, 43.1%, $5,000

This venerable dram layers jellied dark fruits, forest honey, and dark chocolate over charred oak and peppercorn aromas. Sweet toffee and sherry fruit lead the palate, backed by baked citrus, plum, and ground pepper, before taking a darker turn with complex notes of leather, cherry cake, tobacco leaf, and fig rolls. The dry, leathery finish is supported by the flavor of Golden Fruit cookies.

93 points - CRN57^o 70 year old, 45%, $7,500

Just imagine having the stock in the warehouse to craft a blended malt of this age. Sweet with honey, dried apple, baked orange, vanilla, and cinder toffee, with notes of lime peel and wood oils. Incredible freshness with honey-glazed apple, banana chip, sweet oak, caramelized peanuts, and vanilla grace the taste buds, with a creamy, sweet finish of citrus candy notes. Remarkably, at 70 years, this still brims with vitality.