Isle of Harris Distillery
Isle of Harris Distillery
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Isle of Harris Distillery is The Social Distillery, offering a warm welcome to all in the heart of Harris. We are open six days a week with regular tours, a public canteen offering fresh local produce and a shop full of local products as well as our own Isle of Harris Gin.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Restaurants
8 within 5 kms
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13 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- Lynn HAuckland, New Zealand68 contributionsA must do for a gin fan!Doing a tour definitely recommended! Friendly and informative guide, with several tastings. A good explanation of how the gin and whisky are made, only disappointment was we were there 4 days too early to sample their actual first release of whisky! Shop also worth a look if you don’t want to do a tourMany thanks for your kind feedback. Glad you enjoyed your visit. Hopefully we will see you again soon for a taster of our whisky!Written 2 October 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited September 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 18 September 2023
- idallasNorwich, United Kingdom89 contributionsFantastic..... A must doWhat a wonderful distillery and such a fantastic tour. The staff are so passionate about whatv they do and that really shines through. Our tour guide Leonna is a real credit to the distillery. Her enthusiasm really made the tour very special. This is a real must if you're on the Isle of Harris Oh...... and the gin is pretty special tooMany thanks for your kindness. Delighted that you enjoyed your visit to the Isle of Harris Distillery. We will be sure to pass your kind words on to Leona! Hopefully we will see you again soon.Written 2 October 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited September 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 20 September 2023
- nickrylancetravelLondon, United Kingdom54 contributionsDeeply interesting and funThank you MM for such an entertaining morning, we enjoyed the tour so much it was like going to the theatre, we learnt so much and were moved and entertained along the way, well worth the visit. So lucky to be there this week of their whiskey launch after all these hard working years. We look forward to learning how it goes - and to tasting :)Thank you so much for your kind review. Thrilled to hear you enjoyed your visit. We'll be sure to pass your lovely words on to MM. Slainte to you for when you try a dram of The Hearach!Written 2 October 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited September 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 20 September 2023
- Kathy BManchester, United Kingdom26 contributionsA must for any visitor to HarrisVisited just after the weekend of the the new Hearach Whisky launch. Every body on the island seemed to be buzzing about it. It was a huge success. Our tour was the first one by the young lady to include the whisky. Her enthusiasm for it was infectious. A very interesting talk, including tasters, so interesting. We felt quite privileged to have been there at this special time. Oh yes, and the whiskey is fab (as well as the gin) This was one of the highlights of our 10 day visit to Lewis and Harris.Incredible kind words and we really do appreciate it. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit to the distillery and to the Isle of Harris. Hopefully we will see you again soon! Ceud taing.Written 10 October 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited September 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 6 October 2023
- KMGenevaFounex, Switzerland153 contributionsWonderfulWe visited before the launch of their first whisky so could only try the gin. We’ll just have to go again! We had a lovely tour led by a kind and enthusiastic guide. We were particularly thankful of the way she accommodated our adult son with special needs. In fact it was a warm, caring welcome, not just an accommodation. Very special. This kind of welcome makes our lives far less stressful and is really appreciated. We loved the design of the bottles and glasses too. The arrivals reception and till for the shop are one and the same so it was a little confusing on arrival. A sign telling tour customers where to wait would have been useful. But overall, it was a 5 star visit.We're delighted that you enjoyed your visit to the Isle of Harris Distillery so much. Looking forward to welcoming you back again to try our whisky!! Many thanks for the feedback on the arrival signage, we will certainly take that onboard. Ceud taing!Written 6 November 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited August 2023Travelled with familyWritten 4 November 2023
- Kevin SmithCarnoustie, United Kingdom190 contributionsFantastic distillery - great tourA fantastic distillery. The gin is to die for. We have made more than a few bottles disappear. A brilliant tour. Very good guides and friendly staff. Some areas are dog friendly. We visited just before the Hearach whisky was released but have since managed to obtain some. All products available are worth buying - the sea kelp additive for the gin is a game changer!!Thank you for your kind words. We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed your visit so much and that you were able to get your hands on a bottle of The Hearach. We hope you will come and see us again soon!Written 11 December 2023This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited June 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 8 December 2023
- alex17 contributionsExcellent tour with real passion.I've done a few distillery tours over the years. This one is different and I mean in a good way. The passion from the guide, the knowledge and the island community make this an excellent tour. No restrictions on pictures, which is unheard-of. They do both Whisky and Gin tours, but the onus is on whisky. You also see the bottling process which again is rare. This distillery is new, but it is part of the community and has been developed with that in mind. Strongly recommend a visit.Many thanks for your kind words. We are delighted to hear you had such a special experience and also felt the island community aspect of our social distillery. Do come back to visit us again soon!Written 25 March 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited March 2024Travelled soloWritten 16 March 2024
- IanAndRhonaAirdrie, United Kingdom43 contributionsGuided tour March’24What a fantastic welcome by friendly staff. The tour was conducted by a young knowledgeable guide called Gill who made the tour very interesting and fun. The tour is predominantly around whisky but also included a very interesting slot about gin. This is our second visit to the site and spent time with Sandi who we met on our last visit. A very energetic individual who is passionate about the product. Would recommend a visit as you will not be disappointed . Rhona and IanHi Rhona and Ian, we are thrilled to hear you joined us for a second time here at the Isle of Harris Distillery. Many thanks for your kind words. We'd love to have you back for a third time!Written 25 March 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited March 2024Travelled with familyWritten 19 March 2024
- MikeGlossop, United Kingdom1,329 contributionsMet the brewerStunning modern building, but with a cozy interior. I loved the real fire and harpist playing. Sampled the whiskey and tasted a local beer too. The assistant brewer I spoke to was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.Visited July 2024Travelled soloWritten 6 July 2024
- LornaKEllon81 contributionsA Wonderful TourWe have been on several distillery tours but this one topped the lot! The story behind the distillery from its inception to the present day was a fascinating listen. Our guide 'MM' was so knowledgeable and explained all about the distillery, the history, the founders' philosophy and the production of the Harris gin and The Hearach so well - it was fascinating and we could listen to it all over again. The tasters at the start of the tour were welcomed but for me, learning about the amount of detailed thought, linking the design of the bottles to the island as well as the production process, showed just how much this place is for the community, part of the community and will be for decades to come. Thank you!Visited July 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 29 July 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on 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 waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
572 reviews
Excellent
408
Very good
119
Average
31
Poor
11
Terrible
3
Balgowangirl
Dunkeld, UK26 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
We were booked on the 2pm tour, got there 30 mins early to have a coffee. Coffee and cakes were lovely you can sit outside, inside or in front of the gorgeous open fire if it's a cold day. Was a bit busy and feel could have done with one extra pair of hands - but we know it's hard getting catering staff in leisure and tourism at present. Staff were lovely anyway. Went on tour and our tour guide was Jillian. She was only 19 and new to the job. She was a natural! Engaging, interested, approachable and a little humour. She'd only be doing the job as a guide a very short while so she should phenomenal when she's fully up to speed. Lovely to see young people guiding. The tour was interesting but we couldn't see bottling etc due to delay in warehouses for new whiskey being built. Slight shame bit rest was superb. Shop was super beautifully merchandised with good upsells and crossells. (Yes, this author is in marketing leisure and tourism!). Would definitely recommend and only reason 4 stars was waited 15 mins from arriving in cafe to drink in my hand -was a busy day though. Well done all at Harris Gin, can't wait for the whisky to come out.
Written 11 July 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.
Thank you for your lovely review Hetty and Louis. We're so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with our tour guide Jillian and will pass on your feedback to her. Thank you for your feedback regarding staffing and the wait for your drink in our café, we will keep this in mind and work on improvements.
Written 18 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anne K
Bewdley, UK83 contributions
Sept 2021 • Couples
We were lucky enough to get onto a tour so would advise booking in advance. The tour starts with the story of the distillery which although it’s relatively new is none the less worth hearing. Their ethos of a social distillery is fabulous to hear and all the staff we met were islanders and equally passionate about the distillery and it’s future to support the islanders. While some parts of the tour have been curtailed due to social distancing , there were opportunities for whisky and gin tasting ( or take it home as we were driving). We also saw the stills and other parts of the process.
We look forward to tasting their whisky when it’s bottled but the gin is also amazing and we love the bottle!!
We look forward to tasting their whisky when it’s bottled but the gin is also amazing and we love the bottle!!
Written 20 September 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.
Hi Anne,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your lovely review of your trip to our distillery. I'm delighted to hear that our story resonated with you. I hope that you enjoyed your bottle of Isle of Harris Gin once you had the opportunity to sample it!
Written 22 November 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sujata410
Owings Mills, MD944 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
We first tasted Isle of Harris Gin in a restaurant in Edinburgh and quickly realized that this is one of the best gins EVER! Once we understood more about the distillery and how seriously they take the concept of creating jobs for future generations of islanders, we knew that we had to experience this in-person. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the distillery including the tour to see how the gin is actually made and the whisky that they hope to bottle soon. Every member of staff that we met was very friendly and welcoming and having a blazing fireplace right at the entrance of the distillery was a also nice touch. The small cafe serves delicious,seasonal dishes and of course a great gin and tonic!
Written 9 February 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.
Many thanks for taking the journey to our island shores. We hope it won't be too long until you can join us again and maybe next time we can share a Hearach dram with you too.
Written 11 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lynne W
178 contributions
Sept 2020 • Couples
Due to current conditions there seem to be no tours, no cafe and no toilets. So it’s buy a bottle of gin or not!
A shiny new distillery with a tiny car park shared with the Harris Tweed company which again due to restrictions and limited numbers allowed in results in queuing (in the rain).
Tarbet itself has poor signage and poor amenities. You could play hunt the public toilet, use one of the three petrol pumps with the grumpy attendant or watch the many construction workers who are extending the Calmac terminal...,
A great pity as this was a place we were really looking forward to visiting.
A shiny new distillery with a tiny car park shared with the Harris Tweed company which again due to restrictions and limited numbers allowed in results in queuing (in the rain).
Tarbet itself has poor signage and poor amenities. You could play hunt the public toilet, use one of the three petrol pumps with the grumpy attendant or watch the many construction workers who are extending the Calmac terminal...,
A great pity as this was a place we were really looking forward to visiting.
Written 23 September 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.
We're sorry to hear you were left disappointed by your recent visit to Tarbert and our distillery Lynne. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions we are limited on how many we can have in the building at one time and as our canteen and tour area are both very small we are unable to offer either of these for the time being. We hope you can join us again in the future to enjoy a distillery tour when the time is right.
Written 5 October 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Traveller
66 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
I have visited many distilleries around Scotland and found the Harris distillery rather disappointing. The shop did not offer any interesting merchandise like all the other distilleries, just lots of bottles of gin and associated glasses.
We were expecting to see Harris whisky on sale this year. We have been coming to Harris every year for many years and we’re excited about the distillery.
When will we be able to sample and buy it ?
The cafe was closed which was surprising as other distilleries we visited had cafe facilities.
Disappointing
We were expecting to see Harris whisky on sale this year. We have been coming to Harris every year for many years and we’re excited about the distillery.
When will we be able to sample and buy it ?
The cafe was closed which was surprising as other distilleries we visited had cafe facilities.
Disappointing
Written 21 August 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.
I'm sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your visit to the distillery.
Our shop range is small and considered as we focus on sharing our own, high quality products. As well as our Isle of Harris Gin we offer a range of hand-blown glassware, our aluminum refill bottle, our Distillery Harris Tweed jackets, our ceramic cèilidh bottles and a bespoke range of toiletries, to name a few.
Our whisky, the Hearach, is still maturing and we are yet to announce a release date. As we say in Harris, 'it will be ready when it's ready'. We offer samples of our new make spirit as part of our tour.
We are sorry that we could not welcome you to our distillery canteen. Given the challenges of the last year we were forced to close our canteen as we could not ensure our guests could remain safely socially distanced given the small space. To preempt disappointment we have advised on our website and social media channels that our canteen remains closed and are happy to recommend alternative eateries upon request.
I hope the above answers are helpful but do get in touch if we can provide any more insight. We would love to hear your suggestions on products you would like to see us introduce to our range. Our e-mail address is info@harrisdistillery.com.
Written 23 August 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Maxine T
Shrewsbury, UK232 contributions
Sept 2022 • Couples
We visited on a Thursday morning in August.
We arrived at the venue and paid the £15 admission price to a friendly guy called Neil.
We browsed the shop whilst waiting for the tour to start.
Once the tour started we enjoyed the information from a young woman (don't recall her name but she is married to a guy called Norman Ian). She was very informed, friendly and funny. Great advocate for the Company. We bought a bottle of the gin and can't wait to hear about the launch of the whisky. All in all a great visit 😊
We arrived at the venue and paid the £15 admission price to a friendly guy called Neil.
We browsed the shop whilst waiting for the tour to start.
Once the tour started we enjoyed the information from a young woman (don't recall her name but she is married to a guy called Norman Ian). She was very informed, friendly and funny. Great advocate for the Company. We bought a bottle of the gin and can't wait to hear about the launch of the whisky. All in all a great visit 😊
Written 2 September 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.
Thank you for your lovely review. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Leona and hope to welcome you back again!
Written 12 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Royboy75
Redditch, UK493 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
Being an avid gin fan visiting the distillery (even just the shop) was a must for us on our visit to Harris. Irrelevant of the details of how we got there the experience we received was luke warm. Not every item is priced so when I had to ask for a price a couple of times it felt painful to get a response. Every gin is different and every distillery has a different story, it would have been nice to have a chat albeit brief about the gin but I received a very transactional visit. I've purchased bread that was more of an experience. It is what it is just disappointed I didn't buy the gin for £2.50 more in another shop on the island and save myself the hassle and waste of time of going to the actual distillery shop.
Written 22 October 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.
Hi Roy,
I'm so sorry to hear about your disappointing experience visiting our distillery shop. We completely understand your frustration as we endeavor to give every guest a welcoming experience when they take the time to visit us and we have obviously fallen short on this occasion.
I will pass on your comments to our Guest Team Manager for consideration so we can hopefully improve our service in the future.
Kind regards,
Lauren
Written 22 November 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Verity A
Telford, UK38 contributions
Nov 2022 • Couples
Walking in here after surviving a classic island storm in a motorhome was like coming home. Greeted by the most delicious smells and a stunning open fire, we were welcomed by a lady (sorry I didn't catch your name) who had the most wonderful passion for her job. She told us everything we could ever want to know about gin and also informed us about their eagerly anticipated whisky. The gin itself is absolutely delious. It is the perfect reminder of a windy walk on a Hebridean white sand beach, that wonderful seaweed smell in the air and the sea spray salty tang on your lips.
Lovely place that every visitor to the island should check out.
Lovely place that every visitor to the island should check out.
Written 26 November 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.
Thank for such a positive review! We are so pleased you enjoyed your time at our distillery and on our wee island! It is lovely to hear you feel the passion our team have! We look forward to hopefully welcoming you again in the future! Slàinte!
Written 12 December 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
j7jpc
Leven, UK96 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Shop and cafe are superb as is the building. However the tour was really disappointing for the price!! Given they are selling gin with a great reputation the emphasis was on the anticipated whisky!! Very little about gin. Upstairs was a non event. Guide knew very little and we stood around looking at 3 large vats! I expected to see gin going into bottles, labelling, packing etc. But the best big was the jelly beans! Not sure why downstairs we began with a measure of in drinkable pure spirit and a measure of Highland Park whisky. Then upstairs we got a measure of gin in a small plastic lidded pot!! All very bizarre. Mr Bakewell should rethink the tour!
Written 7 August 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.
We are very sorry to read that you were disappointed with your experience on our tour. We take great pride in our tours and knowledgable guides however we are both a whisky and gin distillery so our tours will reflect that. We apologise that the tour was not as gin focussed as you expected and we hope we can welcome you again in the future.
Written 19 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jeanette M
17 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
Amazing welcome with a peat burning open fire and comfy seats. There's also a small cafe where you can buy a Harris Gin and/or cocktail. Even if you cannot get booked for a tour, it's a definite place to pop in to when visiting Harris.
Written 14 July 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.
Thank you for your lovely review. We're so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit to the Distillery and look forward to welcoming you back in the future.
Written 18 July 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Any advice on drilling the bottle base to make a lamp?
Written 9 August 2018
You don't need to drill a hole, you can buy an adaptor kit online that has the flex on the side of the adaptor.
Written 29 October 2018
bstokesy
Chesterfield, United Kingdom
Hi, are dogs allowed on the tours or anywhere in the cafe?
Written 8 August 2017
Harris_Distillery
Tarbert, United Kingdom
Hello and sorry for the delay in answering your question. We love dogs here at the distillery but for the comfort of our guests and other dogs, we only allow four-legged friends in the entrance foyer and by the fireside. You are also very welcome to order from the Canteen and sit by the fire with your dog and we'll bring your food to you. Hope this helps!
Written 20 August 2017
Hi there,
I was wondering how much is the guided tour of the distillery? And how long does it last?
Thanks!
Written 21 September 2016
Harris_Distillery
Tarbert, United Kingdom
Thanks everyone for these correct responses! Please be sure to call ahead to book your place as group sizes are kept small to ensure a personal experience with every tour. 01859 502212
Written 23 September 2016
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