It would be hard to find a distillery set in more scenic and unspoilt surroundings than Balblair. One of Scotland's oldest working distilleries, it is strikingly situated by the beautiful Dornoch Firth on the sweep of the Cambuscurrie Bay.

Founded in 1790, within sight of the ancient Clach Biorach symbol stone.

The original source of its water is still used to this day. The delightful and winding Ault Dearg burn flows fresh and clear from the surrounding hills.

John Ross, the founder, ran Balblair as a thriving business and in 1824 he was joined by his son, Andrew. The distillery stayed in the Ross family until 1894 when the tenancy was taken over by Alexander Cowan.

In 1948 the freehold was bought by Robert Cumming (affectionately known as Bertie) who promptly expanded the distillery and increased production. Bertie ran the distillery until he retired in 1970 when he sold it to what became Allied Distillers. In 1996 Balblair was purchased by Inver House Distillers and so began a new chapter in its history.

Balblair enjoys one of the oldest archives in distilling, with the first ledger entry dated 25th January 1800. John Ross himself penned that first entry, which read: "Sale to David Kirkcaldy at Ardmore, one gallon of whisky at £1.8.0d".

Today, over two centuries later, four out of the nine Balblair distillery workers have the surname Ross so the distillery's traditions still clearly run through the veins of the men who work there.