The 5 Best Distilleries to Visit on the Isle of Skye
A round-up of the best distilleries on the Isle of Skye, from whisky to gin, tours to tastings.
Written by: Lesley Stewart
One of my great loves about Scotland is our excellent whisky and gin, and the distilleries on the Isle of Skye are amongst my favourite places for tours and tastings. If you’re visiting the island this year, I’m sharing distilleries (both iconic and new) that should be on your must-visit list.
Malted barley, island water, and a whole lot of weather.
On the Isle of Skye, spirit-making is more than craft - it’s a reflection of the land itself. From bold peated single malts shaped by Atlantic winds to herbaceous gins infused with foraged botanicals, Skye distilleries bottle something of the island’s wild character.
Whether you’re a lifelong whisky lover or simply curious to try a local dram, there’s a surprising variety of distillery experiences to explore across Skye and its neighbour, Raasay.
This isn’t just home to the famous Talisker.
It’s also where you’ll find small-batch gin producers, independent tasting rooms, and new distilleries reviving centuries-old traditions. Each stop on the island offers something different: a flavour, a story, a view you’ll never forget.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best Skye distilleries to visit - covering everything from whisky tastings by the sea to scenic gin samplings, local breweries, and the essential travel tips for planning your route.
At a Glance: Skye’s Best Whisky Distilleries
If you’re short on time and want a quick list, then these are the best distilleries on Skye. You’ll find more details, such as how to book tours and tastings, below:
Talisker Distillery (Carbost): Skye’s original whisky icon with tours, shop, and bar.
Torabhaig Distillery (Sleat): Small, scenic, and fiercely independent, book a tour to taste.
Isle of Raasay Distillery (Raasay): A contemporary whisky experience with rooms and a restaurant.
Broadford Distillery (Broadford): Small, indie, with a focus on small batch and intimate tastings.
Isle of Skye Distillers (Portree & Breakish): Gin, vodka, and whisky in boutique stores. Not a distillery, but a great place to taste and buy.
Planning a trip to Skye?
If you’re planning a whisky-themed trip to Skye, make sure to pair your visits with great food and local stops. My guides to eating on Skye, Carbost travel tips, Portree travel tips, and Skye’s best restaurants will help you build a day around your distillery visits.
I also often suggest tying it in with a whisky-themed afternoon at the town’s top whisky bars.
This post is part of both my Isle of Skye travel series and a broader Scotland whisky guide, designed to help you experience the best of the Highlands and islands, one sip at a time.
Private Tours around Skye’s Whisky Distilleries
Remember, here in Scotland our drink-driving laws are strict, with a zero-tolerance policy. It goes without saying that you’ll need to choose a designated driver - or book us for a private Skye whisky distillery tour.
For a fully tailored experience, our private tours offer custom itineraries built around your whisky preferences. Ideal if you're keen to visit more than one distillery or want to include scenic stops and a great lunch along the way.
The Best Isle of Skye Distillery To Visit This Year
Talisker Distillery, Carbost
As the oldest and most iconic whisky distillery on Skye, Talisker is a pilgrimage for whisky lovers.
Perched on the picturesque shoreline of Loch Harport in Carbost, this legendary distillery offers a deeply atmospheric experience—think peaty drams, sea spray, and centuries of tradition.
And if I had to choose just one Skye distillery, Talisker would be it.
Travellers can choose from several guided tours that explain the whisky-making process; if you’re a whisky connoisseur, you’ll love the cask draw experience (£150), but my favourite option is the distillery tour and tasting (£22), which lasts around an hour and is the perfect introduction to the brand.
Ending, of course, with tastings of their utterly delicious signature single malts.
That said, while I love the Talisker tour (and I do), many of my favourite Talisker memories are actually from their Campfire Bar.
Located in the distillery itself, this contemporary yet cosy spot is a welcoming place for those who want to savour a dram without the tour. We recently spent a happy few hours here building our own whisky flights with the help of knowledgeable staff, but it was the dangerously good whisky cocktails on my second visit that were the biggest surprise!
Easily one of my favourite Scottish distilleries, this whitewashed, coastal gem is a must-visit on Skye.
Plan your trip:
If you’re heading here, you’ll want to check out my full Carbost guide for the best waterfalls, coffee, and beaches on this idyllic corner of Skye.
And, given how popular Talisker is, I advise you to book your tour in advance (although in quieter months you can generally book on the day).
Whisky flight at Talisker Distillery.
Tip: I also need to mention the utterly brilliant Three Chimneys at Talisker, a foodie experience that recently blew me away.
The iconic restaurant, in partnership with the distillery, has opened a contemporary and relaxed seafood eatery just across the road. Overlooking Loch Harport, the food, views, and drinks make this eatery one of the best on the island.
Isle of Raasay Distillery, Raasay
One of my favourite whisky experiences in all of Scotland is tucked just across the water from Skye on the tiny Isle of Raasay. Reached by a short 25-minute CalMac ferry from Sconser, visiting Raasay feels like stepping into another world—quieter, slower, calmer.
Here you’ll find Isle of Raasay Distillery, a cutting-edge facility that pairs modern whisky-making with spectacular views.
The Isle of Raasay Distillery itself is much more than just a place to taste whisky—it's a full experience. From the moment you arrive, you’re met with sweeping sea views back towards Skye and a contemporary distillery that blends beautifully into its surroundings.
The guided tours here offer a brilliant behind-the-scenes look at their distilling process and a chance to learn how Raasay’s distinctive geology, island water source, and coastal climate shape the final product.
Tastings are a highlight, especially if you're new to Raasay's lightly peated style (they also do a lovely gin for non-whisky drinkers).
That said, the contemporary bar is perfect for a DIY tasting with all expressions of Raasay whisky on offer. We took the ferry over, wandered around the shore, then sampled Raasay’s single malts from atop our barstools.
Plan your trip:
If you're planning a visit to Raasay Distillery, aim to book your ferry tickets in advance, especially in summer, and check the return times carefully. The ferry takes foot passengers and cars, but I recommend leaving your car at the Sconser ferry terminal if the distillery is your main goal.
There are also rooms above the distillery, seriously stylish and the perfect boutique stay (an overnight stay is very much on my bucket list), and a gorgeous restaurant serving lunch and evening meals.
You can book tours directly through the distillery’s website, and I’d strongly advise planning this one; it’s a hidden gem that’s getting more popular every season.
Torabhaig Distillery, Sleat
Torabhaig may be one of Skye’s newest distilleries, but it has quickly gained respect and a loyal following among whisky fans. Located in a beautifully restored 19th-century farm steading on the Sleat Peninsula, this distillery offers an intimate look at the craftsmanship behind its distinctly maritime single malts.
The distillery runs daily guided tours with tastings — the most popular is the Regular Distillery Tour, which lasts around 45 minutes and offers a peek into the distillery's working processes, with a tutored tasting of the most recently released expressions of Torabhaig Single Malt.
However, whisky aficionados should consider the intimate Warehouse Tour, which dives into the flavours of Torabhaig’s “Legacy Series”. One of my regrets from our Skye distillery trip was missing this (it is a premium option and runs only twice a week; we arrived on the wrong day). But it’s a deep dive into the maturation process, with tastings from two specially selected casks and a sample box to take home.
Sadly, there’s no bar for a DIY tasting; however, there is a visitor centre and shop, where you can buy bottles exclusive to the site.
Plan your trip:
If you're arriving on Skye by ferry, this distillery makes an ideal first stop—it's just a short drive from the terminal and a brilliant way to begin your island adventure. And I always recommend booking Torabhaig Distillery tours in advance to secure your spot.
Isle of Skye Distillers, Portree & Breakish
While most people come to Skye in search of whisky, I always recommend carving out a little time to explore the island’s award-winning gin scene too—and Misty Isle from Isle of Skye Distillers is the perfect place to start.
Created by two local brothers with deep roots in Skye, Isle of Skye Distillers has crafted a range of small-batch gins and vodkas that truly capture the island's wild spirit.
Their flagship ‘classically aromative’ Misty Isle Gin is a personal favourite of mine: clean, crisp, and just the right touch of Skye botanical flavours.
Their main shop in Portree is more than just a bottle stop. It’s a lovely, welcoming space where you can sample the spirits, chat to the team, and pick up a bottle or two. The staff here are fantastic, and always keen to share stories behind the distillery’s beginnings, how the gins are made, and which expression might suit your palate.
They often stock limited editions and seasonal releases, as well as a handpicked collection of whiskies from across Scotland.
While there’s no full production tour available just yet, the tastings and warm welcome more than make up for it.
Plan your trip:
The Portree shop is easy to combine with a wander around town; it's a perfect stop if you're looking to take something uniquely Skye home with you (there are miniature bottles of each gin and some whiskies to stash in your luggage).
If you're heading south or have plans near Broadford, there’s a second Misty Isle bottle shop in Breakish that’s worth a quick detour (ideal if you're staying nearby or heading to/from the Skye Bridge). While you can buy the brand’s signature gin here, I’d say this bottle shop is particularly suited to single malt fans.
The range of whisky on offer is excellent, and I’m not sure how they’ve managed to squeeze so many bottles into such a small store!
Broadford Distillery
Broadford Distillery is one of the smallest spirit projects on Skye. Yet, located just off the main road in the village of Broadford, this new independent distillery is quietly making waves.
Although whisky production is still on the horizon, the team is already crafting beautiful gins, liqueurs, and experimental drams in their tucked-away tasting room.
I dropped in for one of their guided tastings (just £15 per person) and came away genuinely impressed -not just by the quality of the spirits, but by the personal, heartfelt welcome from the team.
You’ll sample their signature 57° Skye Gin, a rare Highland usquebaugh, and even a young single malt, all poured with a side of stories about their plans to revive Skye’s long-lost Corry Distillery. It’s the kind of place where nothing feels rushed, and questions are encouraged.
While there’s no bar or production tour yet, the distillery has ambitious plans for expansion: a full-scale whisky operation, a café bar with views over the hills, and a visitor centre built to share every step of the process. But for now, what’s on offer is refreshingly intimate, and all the more charming for it.
Plan your trip:
Tastings are best pre-booked, though we luckily stumbled upon the distillery and they were kind enough to let us sit in. The distillery is right in the centre of Broadford, making it easy to combine with lunch at nearby Lean To Coffee or a walk along the nearby seafront.
If you're staying nearby or heading south towards the Skye Bridge, Broadford Distillery makes for a relaxed and rewarding stop—and a brilliant way to support Skye’s next generation of spirit-makers. You’ll also find sister locations in Plockton, Edinburgh, and Kyle, if you're exploring beyond the island.
Getting around Skye’s Distilleries
If you’d rather enjoy your drams without worrying about who’s driving (and rightly so—Scotland’s drink-driving laws are among the strictest in the world), there are some helpful private transport options on Skye to make your whisky day both safe and stress-free.
For a fully tailored experience, our private tours offer custom itineraries built around your whisky preferences—ideal if you're keen to visit more than one distillery or want to include scenic stops and a great lunch along the way.
Alternatively, local taxi services such as Gus’s Taxis and BWS Taxis are highly rated and familiar with Skye’s distillery routes. Many will happily organise round-trip transport for your group, even building in time for tastings, photos, and the occasional scenic detour.
Travel tip: These services book up quickly in high season, so I’d recommend securing your slot in advance. Most drivers are more than happy to help plan the best route, so you can focus on the whisky, not the logistics.
Wrap-Up: Skye’s Distilleries
From iconic whisky names to small-batch gin producers and community-rooted tasting rooms, the Isle of Skye offers a surprisingly rich spirits scene for such a rugged, remote island.
Whether you're a seasoned whisky enthusiast or just whisky-curious, each distillery here brings its own flavour (quite literally) to the story of Skye.
I’ve loved visiting each of these places over the years, not just for the drams, but for the people behind them—the founders, guides, and makers who are deeply passionate about what they do. And while the whisky is a draw, it’s the combination of wild coastal views, warm village charm, and slow island pace that makes these tasting experiences so memorable.
Slàinte mhath!
Finally, if you have any questions about the destination above or are looking for something custom, get in touch!
Lesley x
/
/
Posts on this site may contain affiliate links that help support my business in creating content. If you purchase using one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. However, all opinions are absolutely my own, and I only recommend places I genuinely love. Read my disclaimer for more information.
