Top whisky distilleries to watch out for in 2025

There are lots of whisky distilleries to watch out for in 2025. While new whisky distilleries are always exciting, we’ve selected a few here that have very much caught our eye. Here’s why. 

New whisky distilleries: a 21st century phenomenon

People relatively new to the world of whisky have become somewhat spoiled by the sheer volume and variety of whisky makers that have arrived on the scene in recent years. 

Go back to 2005 and those who recall the opening of Kilchoman will remember how big that felt. It was the first distillery to be built on Islay for 124 years and was the third malt distillery to open in Scotland since 1990. In the 19 years that followed, an estimated 52 new distilleries have been built. 

In Ireland, three distilleries were operating in 2010: Midleton, Bushmills, and Cooley. Now there are over 40 working whiskey distilleries and that number will soon cross the half century. In 2005, The English Whisky Co. Ltd. was granted permission to found the first registered whisky distillery in England in over 100 years. There are now 55 distilleries on the English whisky map. 

Of course, building and running a distillery isn’t all smooth sailing and Party Rings. Anyone who saw the recent disappointing news about Waterford Distillery calling in receivers to secure its future will appreciate that. 

The last few years have been plagued by challenges: wars, trade disputes, the rising cost of living, Brexit, an actual plague in the form of COVID… We thought we might see Elixir Distillers’ Portintruan Distillery open this year on Islay, but construction had to be paused after the ISG construction company entered administration.

Fundamentally, whisky has always been a boom-bust industry. Naturally, with so many new producers all vying for market share in a competitive space and few economic, social, or political factors weighing in their favour, people are concerned. 

The whisky distilleries of the future

But while there are doubters, there are also believers. There is lots of new whisky that will soon flow from casks across the world. The whisky distilleries of the future have several things in common. Most of them are supremely concerned with the technicalities of production and want you to know about it.

Whether they’re harking back to old school techniques, embracing the bright brilliance of new technology, or have a geek-off to prove who knows the most about yeast or barley varieties, distilleries of today understand that a pretty bottle and a story about a grandma’s secret recipe just isn’t going to cut it. Iiyama Mountain Farm Distillery, featured on this list, actually employed a scientist to help engineer an extreme weather-resistant barley strain. Also below is the Spirit of Manchester Distillery, whose English whisky will benefit from a collab with a local brewery to secure a 5,000th-generation yeast.

You also can’t get away with using sustainability as a buzzword. Building a new site from scratch allows the opportunity to do things right, and whether motivated by a genuine communal desire to preserve and protect the planet or by the fact that in this market no green credentials are a problem (or both), the desire to be (or be seen) as environmentally conscious is a fundamental tenant of new distillerydom. 

In our list of top whisky distilleries to watch out for in 2025 alone, you can point to Laggan Bay’s dedicated wetlands to manage liquid waste and provide a haven for wildlife, or Eden Mill and its 100% renewable electricity plus its capturing of CO₂ produced during the fermentation process for future use. The eco-friendly Ardgowan Distillery will have a carbon-negative process, featuring heat recovery, water conservation, and carbon capture initiatives. 

Who are these whisky distilleries of the future? Let’s get to the list. Some of these will open next year, others will release their first whiskies. All of them are very exciting. 

Top whisky distilleries to watch out for in 2025

Laggan Bay, Scotland

In our round-up of the Islay whisky distilleries that will open in the future, we put a spotlight on Laggan Bay. It will become the 12th whisky distillery operating on the iconic island when it opens in 2025. A partnership between Ian Macleod Distillers and The Islay Boys (whose newly completed brewery sits next to it at Glenegedale), this is a project backed by proper drinks people who intend to make “traditional, double-distillation Islay whisky”. Perhaps they’ll even be available to see at the next Fèis Ìle…

Iiyama Mountain Farm Distillery, Japan

An independent distillery in Japan releasing its first single malt whisky will always pique interest. We’re set to see the first Kiyokawa Whisky in 2025 from the Iiyama Mountain Farm Distillery, Japan, which creates whisky using a farm-to-bottle approach, as the name suggests. The process begins with a hybrid mountain barley developed with the aforementioned local scientist that can withstand the harsh climate of the distillery’s home, tucked away in the Japanese Alps. This stunning locale brings fresh mountain spring water as well as huge temperature variance for both barley production and the maturation climate, with the barley fields sometimes buried under three metres of snow in the winter followed by hot summers. State-of-the-art Frilli pot stills and marsala casks from Italy, plus oloroso sherry casks from Spain will also help forge the Kiyokawa DNA.

Isle of Tiree Distillery, Scotland

The first expression of Tiree Whisky in over 200 years arrives in January 2025. Ian Smith and Alain Campbell founded the Tiree whisky company in 2012 on the Hebridean island and launched Tyree Gin in 2017. It’s also bottled some whiskies – The Cairnsmuir and TMF10 whisky. But the five-year-old single malt whisky that will launch in January is all Tiree. It’s made from unpeated malted barley in a small oak mash tun, distilled over a direct flame in small copper pot stills and then matured in American oak bourbon quarter casks and a 50-litre virgin oak cask before spending a further two years in first-fill oloroso sherry casks. The island’s first legal operational distillery since the 1800s plans to follow the single malt whisky with a single grain Scotch whisky.

Eden Mill, Scotland

Eden Mill Distillery made headlines in 2012 when it became Scotland’s first single-site brewery and distillery, making beer, gin and whisky. But in time it needed more room to create the latter. Hence the sparkling new distillery, on course to become operational early in 2025 and capable of producing a massive one million litres of new-make spirit per year. The plan is to also open a visitor centre soon after that will offer gin and whisky tours and boast a rooftop cocktail bar. The brewing heritage will stand the brand in good stead, as its understanding of malting, mashing, and fermentation (expect interesting malt varieties and yeast strains etc.) will appeal to the modern, curious drinker.

Spirit of Manchester Distillery, England

The story of The Spirit of Manchester Distillery is a romantic one with a shared love of gin leading to its inception. The drink makers have never shied away from innovation, however, having created brands such as One-Eyed Rebel Spiced Rum, Sphere English Vodka, Forty-Five Vermouth, and One Point Six English Whisky. The latter, named after Leonardo Fibonacci’s golden ratio, is set to be bottled in 2025. It underwent a long four-day fermentation period, combining English roasted and kilned malts and with a yeast sourced in collaboration with JW Lees Brewery, specifically a 5,000th generation yeast dating back 30 years. It was then distilled in a carbon-neutral, 750-litre custom copper still before being filled into first-fill bourbon, red wine and sherry casks and matured for over three years in an external warehouse. The English whisky scene just keeps growing.  

Ardgowan Distillery, Scotland

Ardgowan Distillery, just 30 miles from Glasgow, has been backed by over £20 million in investment and is set to start making whisky in 2025. It can produce over 1 million litres of single malt whisky annually, with the potential to expand to 2 million litres in the future, all overseen by master blender Max McFarlane and distillery manager Laura Davies. The whisky production begins with Ardgowan Estate’s sweet natural spring water, while its location along the warming Gulf Stream gives the distillery a maritime maturation environment. The design is striking too, with a roof apex that drops from 20m to 14m while maintaining a consistent 6m shoulder height, a dynamic feature that transforms with the light, reflecting colours throughout the day.

Copeland Distillery, Ireland

Over to Nothern Ireland and the Copeland Distillery, which in 2025 will launch four separate whiskeys. Each one promises to have a different mash bill and cask choice. The distillery opened in August 2019, a 6,500 square-foot home just a stone’s throw from the historic harbour in Donaghadee, County Down, an area with a rich maritime and distilling history. It has produced Irish gins, vodka, a cold brew coffee liqueur, and even boasts a rum range but it’s the malt and pot still whiskey currently maturing that has gotten us really excited. 

Whisky distilleries being revived in 2025

Dallas Dhu Distillery, Scotland

Dallas Dhu Distillery is set to reopen in 2025. Like Brora and Port Ellen, it was a distillery lost to the Whisky Loch of the 1980s that retained enough of a cult status to be revived later. Like the other two, which were closed but saw plenty of whisky enter the secondary market and drive demand, old and rare bottles of Dallas Dhu have caused plenty of stir in recent years. The most significant bottle of Dallas Dhu single malt ever brought to market sold in 2021 for £15,500 – the Dallas Dhu 1921 Private Cask 64 Year Old #296. Dallas Dhu’s survival was also aided by its status as a museum and a monument of 20th-century distillation. After production ceased in 1983, it was sold to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) who did the rest. It’s the HES who awarded management of distillery operations to Aceo Distillers Company, which makes The Glenlee Blended Scotch and owns independent bottler Murray McDavid. The plan is to establish new distilling facilities and a bonded warehouse while retaining its status as a historical and educational tourist destination. 

Coleburn Distillery, Scotland

Coleburn Distillery was founded and built in the heart of Speyside by whisky blenders, John Robertson & Son in 1896. Once famed for its experimental workshop, its single malt whisky was supplied across the industry up until it was closed by Diageo in 1985 and the stills have remained silent ever since. In 2004, the distillery buildings were sold to the Winchester Brothers who had plans. Big plans. A 5-star whisky resort with hotel, spa and conference facilities including a working distillery and hospitality focal point is the ultimate dream, carried out in various phases. This has been some time coming, however, and in 2014, Coleburn’s dunnage warehouses were leased to Aceo (remember them?) with the ambition of starting whisky production on the site. For the last decade, the site has been a base for Murray McDavid’s independent bottling operation. In 2024, however, the Winchester Brothers provided an update: the Coleburn distillery bistro will open soon with plans for the distillery to restart producing whisky in 2025.

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