The Cairn Distillery, nestled in the Cairngorms National Park near Grantown-on-Spey, represents a £25 million investment by fourth-generation family business Gordon & MacPhail, known for reviving Benromach Distillery in 1998. As the first new distillery built in the park since its establishment, it combines cutting-edge architecture with reverence for its dramatic Highland surroundings, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that frame views of the Cairngorm mountains and River Spey. While the first spirit flowed in 2022 – described as medium-bodied with sweet malt and vibrant fruit notes – the inaugural single malt won’t bottle until the mid-2030s. This extended maturation reflects Gordon & MacPhail’s legacy of patient cask management, with initial fills stored off-site. Since their own single malts won’t be released for years and decades, The Cairn released a series of blended malts, called CRN57 (named for the 57th parallel latitude), in order to preview the distillery’s future single malt character through expressions aged 12 to 70 years. Let’s review the one in the middle: The Cairn CRN57 30-year-old.
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