The Borders Distillery
The Borders Distillery
5
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
About
The Borders Distillery® opened in March 2018 – the first Scotch Whisky distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837. We’re dedicated to capturing the true spirit of the Borders, and bringing whisky-making back to the region. As we patiently wait for the launch of our first Single Malt, we distill Kerr's Borders Gin and Puffing Billy Steam Vodka from our Borders barley. In the summer of 2022, we released the first blend to leave the Scottish Borders region in 185 years; WS:01 Borders Malt & Rye. We also offer two blended whiskies to our recipe; Lower East Side and Clan Fraser Reserve. Our hometown, Hawick, has a famous history of manufacturing, where cashmere is king and where tweed was invented. There is a spirit of industry and enterprise in the town that inspires us in everything we do. Tours run seasonally from March-October. Our Visitor Centre is open to all throughout the year. Visit us, and discover the spirit of the Borders.
Hawick, Scotland

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023

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(16 reviews)
(11 reviews)
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles111 reviews
Excellent
95
Very good
13
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0

Ann B
Bristol, UK267 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Couples
We pre-booked a small group tour for our family group at this new Borders distillery, and were lucky enough to be shown around personally by their distiller, Robyn! Her passion, enthusiasm and knowledge shone through from the start in her engaging style and we had a brilliant tour around the wonderfully renovated industrial building. Sadly the distillery wasn’t in operation as they are awaiting storage space construction, held up by Covid 19, but Robyn brought the process alive for us and it was a fascinating, personal and most enjoyable visit. The bar at the end had a great photo exhibition, and was the venue for our included tasting session...... really delicious William Kerr’s gin and Puffing Billy vodka made on site, and their Clan Fraser blended whisky. We loved our tour, and couldn’t resist purchasing some of the spirits and other goodies in the friendly and beautiful shop. A most enjoyable visit. Thank you!
Written August 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bernie S
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
We arrived on a bright sunny Thursday afternoon, everyone was lovely and polite with lots of covid 19 security in place. on reception, we were greeted by Finley masked up and eager to please after a quick swatch around the shop another masked figure stepped forward,

With the stature of batman and without the cape or cowl this was Chris a distillery operator, there was no production on today so Chris was a little nervous about his debut as a tour guide.

new to the distilling world he told us of the history of the building (i enquired) and of the founders of the distillery, sadly one of the founders has now passed away before they could get time to taste the matured fruits of the labour of the project.

This young fella has found a new love of the amber spirit and how it is made and as he found his feet on the tour he grew with confidence, even questions from this well seasoned distillery visitor were met with confidence and pride in his profession, by the end was getting into his stride and was possibly even enjoying it.

With gin, vodka as well as newmake spirit on the card they are deffo starting to make their mark with a nice wee tour. I would recommend a vist to this wee distillery which is the first in the borders in 181 years.

and a hartley well done to Chris on bursting the first tour cherry!!!
Written September 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bordersgeezer
Hawick, UK2,964 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Friends
We went with friends on a Friday afternoon slot. First impressions were great with a very friendly introduction and a quick look round their shop which stocks a lot of very good quality products. Our guide was superb, very informative and knowledgeable and talked us through her work during the process of distilling. The architectural transformation of this building has been outstanding and a joy to view. If anyone is not aware, the distillery opened just short of three years ago and therefore their own whisky is not ready to taste but it soon will be. However don’t let that put you off, the tour finishes off with a tasting session in their lounge with a selection of their excellent gins and vodkas which is some of the very best that I’ve had. Whisky is also available for testing supplied from other sources which is also superb. Tours last approx 45 mins and I for one found it highly memorable
Written July 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rowanlaw
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Our small group tour of this Borders Distillery was made ever-so-special by the informative and detailed description from Caitlin. She talked and walked us through each stage of the distillation process with great enthusiasm topping us up with lots of interesting background information. A great short visit
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Arron G
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom86 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Solo
Visited here after getting tickets for the Whisky Stramash.
A great new distillery which has encompassed the heritage the area.
David the toirnguid and apprentice distiller is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic young man.
Excited to see the future for this place!
Written March 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Evelyn C
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
To celebrate Dads 86th birthday- we visited the Borders Distillery and took the tour. It was fabulous. Highly recommend this to both locals and visitors to the Borders. All staff so welcoming, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Thanks to our guide Jamie Grant who gave us a fantastic insight into the methods used to create the unique gin, vodka and whisky.
We were fascinated by the beautifully converted building and the workings of the stills and mash house. We enjoyed tasting in the bar before a walk through the classy distillery shop.
Written August 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Amy H
Liverpool, UK12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Friends
We booked a tour of the distillery as something to do while staying in Hawick and we were not disappointed!

We originally booked as a group of 4 and 5 due to covid 19 but the distillery managed to accommodate us as a group of 9 and still remained covid safe!!

Our tour was done by the distillery manager who was great and so incredibly knowledgeable. The tour was interesting anyway but he made it funny and so easy to understand everything.

The tour was amazing value for money and everyone was so welcoming and warm.

We loved out tour and would definitely come back to do it again.
Written September 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

steven H
West Yorkshire, UK164 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
We were staying in the Lake district and it was worth the hour and a half drive to Hawick. Booked the tour on my phone the night before with no issues. The Distillery is in the town centre (explained on the tour).
It's a lovely old building which has been updated and you get to know about on the tour. The staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and the tour guide was very knowledgable and passionate about the Distillery. The make whisky, Gin and Vodka which they show you how on the tour. It was very nice to see a local run business and their product which is hand made, no computers or gadgets just distillers turning nobs and valves.
The tour is 45 mins with a Gin, Vodka and Whiskey tasting afterwards.
There is a gift shop with all they produce and more for sale.
All in all and great experience and well worth the trip. Would highly recommend.
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chris D
United Kingdom6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
Our first visit to the Scottish Borders, so a distillery visit was a must! To find The Borders Distillery in Hawick so close at hand was an excellent find, and the first distillery in the Boarders in 150 years too!

The mix of the old listed industrial building and the absolutely brand shiny new architecture is just stunning, such a perfect building and so well restored.

We called on a Wednesday morning to book for the 3pm tour. It transpired that we were the only ones booked, so a private tour! Our guide Jamie, being one of the distillers himself, was so knowledgeable and passionate about his job, and it really showed. My girlfriend, practically t-total and not really interested before the tour was captivated and came out saying how interesting and enjoyable it was...! Congratulations Jamie!!

I think we may be back in a few years time when the whisky is ready!

You can really see how hard everyone has worked to make such an incredible distillery. Please visit, and definitely take the tour! - Oh, and an incredibly reasonably priced tour! Just beware, once you've had the tour and sampled the merchandise, your wallet may be much lighter after visiting the shop...!!
Written May 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mollybic1967
York, UK8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
This was our first time at a distillery and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. It lasts around an hour and Sarah was an excellent guide, she certainly knows her stuff. We learnt about the processes for making the whiskey along with the vodka and gin. At the end of the tour we were given a couple of samples to try, my husband was given a couple of samples to take home as he was the designated driver and unable to drink them there, I thought this was a nice touch. The tour then ended us going through the shop, there is a nice selection of the products to purchase, which we felt were a reasonable price and so of course had to purchase some. We look forward to seeing the malt whiskey mature and trying this.
Written August 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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The Borders Distillery - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)