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Fife

Lindores Abbey Distillery

A distillery beside the ruins of Lindores Abbey near Newburgh, where a monk made aqua vitae in 1494, in the earliest written record of Scotch whisky.

Welcome

In 1494 a royal account book recorded an order to Friar John Cor, a monk of Lindores Abbey, to turn eight bolls of malt into aqua vitae.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It is the earliest written record of whisky being made in Scotland, and it gives this quiet corner of Fife, on the banks of the Tay near Newburgh, a fair claim to be where Scotch whisky began.

The abbey itself is now a ruin, but beside it, more than five centuries later, whisky is being made again. Lindores Abbey Distillery opened in 2017, built from local stone and timber in keeping with the old abbey, and its three copper stills turn barley from the surrounding farms into a Lowland single malt. It also makes an Aqua Vitae, a spirit inspired by the monks' own.

Tours show the stills, and there is a handsome bar and courtyard for a dram. The distillery opens every day, and tours are best booked ahead.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go

Open every day, 10am to 4pm, in Google's current record.

Tours are best booked ahead.

Where
Abbey Road, Newburgh, KY14 6HH.
First record
1494.
Opened
2017.

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Did you know

Two bottles of whisky, one labelled 'Lindores Abbey Distillery Aqua Vitae' and the other 'Lindores Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky', stand side by side on a wooden bar.
Did you know

Aqua vitae.

The distillery makes an Aqua Vitae in honour of the monks, whose 1494 order is the first written record of Scotch whisky.

Wooden barrel tables and chairs stand on gravel in the courtyard of a black timber-clad distillery building with a stone base and slate roof.
Did you know

Local stone and timber.

The distillery was built with wood from Denmylne and stone from Clatchard Quarry, in sympathy with the abbey ruins beside it.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Fife

If you call yourself the spiritual home of Scotch whisky – as in the case of this modern distillery, which takes up the baton from a long-lost Tironensian abbey – you need to make sure your produce is up to it. Happily for all, when the distillery’s first single malt was released in mid-2021, some 523 years after the previous batch, the reviews were hugely positive.

Read more
Graeme Johncock

The first written mention of whisky in Scotland was an order from King James IV to the monks of Lindores Abbey in 1494 to make Aqua Vitae or The Water of Life.

Read more
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Where it is

On Abbey Road on the edge of Newburgh, beside the ruins of Lindores Abbey near the Tay, KY14 6HH.

Close byNewburgh.
  1. Sandstone chimneys and rooftops below a green hillside with worn pathsNewburgh BearCarefully cut into the grass of Park Hill, the Newburgh Bear was designed in the 1980s, standing over the nearby town of Newburgh.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Hide, LindoresThe Hide, Lindores2 miles 3 min by road
  3. Strawberries in Mains of Errol Fruit Shack punnets on a wooden ledge, with the fields of the Carse of Gowrie and the hills beyond.Mains of Errol Fruit Shack2 miles as the crow flies
  4. Abernethy Round TowerAbernethy Round Tower4 miles 7 min by road
  5. Falkland PalaceFalkland PalaceThe royal palace in the Howe of Fife.9 miles 16 min by road
  6. Mushroom-shaped rock formation overlooking green farmland and distant hillsThe Bunnet StaneThe strange stone in the Lomond Hills.10 miles 16 min by road
Directions
A white rendered cottage with a red tiled roof, dark dormers and a timber porch stands beside a birch tree under a blue sky.NewburghWest CottageSleeps 6 · 1.6 miles
Two arched glazed doors in a stone wall open onto a paved patio, a rattan table with daffodils and mugs to the right.NewburghThe ArchesSleeps 2 · 1.6 miles
The long timber-clad side of the house runs under a slate roof with solar panels, white chairs on the terrace and a clear blue sky.NewburghThe GlasshouseSleeps 6 · 1.6 miles
A stone and timber house with a dark slated roof and roof windows sits on a lawn, a hot tub and picnic table on the patio.NewburghLindores LodgeSleeps 8 · 2.1 miles
Brick archway of a disused railway tunnel framing a wooded path beyondAttractionsGlenfarg Railway Tunnels7.7 miles
Giant model strawberries on the grass outside the farm shop and cafe at Cairnie Fruit Farm, with a sign pointing to the Funyard and Mega Maze.AttractionsCairnie Fruit Farm8.0 miles
The North Port restaurant in Perth, a three-storey stone building with tall chimneys, sash windows and its name over the ground floor.RestaurantsThe North Port8.5 miles
Whitewashed cottage pub with pantiled roof, hanging lanterns and a stacked woodpile outsideRestaurantsThe Stag, Falkland8.7 miles
Waterfall cascading over mossy rocks into a pool, ferns surrounding the cliffAttractionsMaspie Den9.1 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the distillery, and when each is next free.

The long timber-clad side of the house runs under a slate roof with solar panels, white chairs on the terrace and a clear blue sky.The Glasshouse
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Newburgh
  • A mile from Lindores Abbey Distillery
Free 16–19 NovTwo arched glazed doors in a stone wall open onto a paved patio, a rattan table with daffodils and mugs to the right.The Arches
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Newburgh
  • A mile from Lindores Abbey Distillery
Free 1–3 NovA white rendered cottage with a red tiled roof, dark dormers and a timber porch stands beside a birch tree under a blue sky.West Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Newburgh
  • A mile from Lindores Abbey Distillery
Free 9–12 NovA stone and timber house with a dark slated roof and roof windows sits on a lawn, a hot tub and picnic table on the patio.Lindores Lodge
  • Sleeps 8
  • In Newburgh
  • 2 miles from Lindores Abbey Distillery
Free 2–5 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in FifeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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From the magazineWhisky DistilleriesCollectionDistilleries to visit in ScotlandCollectionAbbeys in Scotland Worth the Detour
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