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About Us
The People. The Place. The Spirits.
We, at North Point Distillery, pride ourselves in creating small batches of premium, authentically Scottish spirits and making every effort to leave as little impact on our environment as possible as we do so.
We believe in the beautiful far north of Scotland; it’s a place like no other. With breathtaking views and spectacular community, it’s the only place in the world we’d ever want to call home. The spirits we create pay homage and thanks to this beautiful home of ours, with our Pilot Rum recalling tales of the past, our Spiced Rum evoking childhood memories, our Crosskirk Bay Gin living loudly in the now, and our Single Malt Whisky, Dalclagie, taking us forward with anticipation.
The Distillery
North Point Distillery was founded in 2020 during an unprecedented time of remote-working and lockdown protocols.
Starting with one still in a single room and a team of 4, we have since expanded into an internationally award winning distillery recognised for quality of product, sustainability practices, and our amazing staff members.
Now boasting a team of 14 with more to join, we are excited to share more of our journey with you.
About Forss
Built as a US Navy Radio Listening Site for NATO during the Cold War, this site has a wealth of history and connection to the neighbouring towns and villages.
The Americans left the site in the ‘90s, at which point the site was mostly vacant except for the odd event hosted here by the local communities, making use of the many features of the site, such as a bowling alley, basketball court, olympic-sized pool, and the baseball diamond built by the Americans, which until recently, was maintained and used for locals to try their hand at the beloved American pastime. A cairn was built upon the Americans’ departure, which overlooks the Pentland Firth and is accessible to view, upon which is written, “Supporting the fleet was our mission, world peace was our goal.”
North Point Distillery moved onto the site in June of 2020, beginning with one building, housing our first still, and since then expanding into a second to accommodate our fourth.
Other histories of the site include the nearby 12th Century ruin, St Mary’s Chapel, as well as another cairn marking the site of what is believed to be the very first broch ever built.
With the smuggler stories of Crosskirk Bay, the Pilots of the Pentland Firth, and the impact of the Forss River mills, this place is tied securely to its people and honoured through our spirits.
Visit Us
Our distillery is based on the Forss Business and Energy Park, just off the A836 and North Coast 500 route.
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Turn at the brown sign for North Point Distillery, onto the Forss Business and Energy Park site; drive straight ahead through the old security gates and continue on, following signs for North Point Distillery.
Satnav postcode: KW14 7UZ
What3words: urgent.theory.easily
Phone number: 01847 808120
Email: hello@northpointdistillery.com
On-Season Hours (May to September)
Monday to Saturday: 10:00 - 17:30
Sunday: Closed
Off-Season Hours (September to May)
Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 17:30
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
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Holiday Hours
Closed: December 24, 2025 to January 4, 2026
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Distillery Tours
starting May 5th
2020
North Point Distillery is born.
After years of planning, friends Struan Mackie and Alex MacDonald found North Point Distillery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, choosing a site in Forss, West Caithness. Read more here.
The distillery received planning permission from the Highland Council and distilling begins in Winter 2020.
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The first still, named Sandie(y) Stroma, arrived on site and begins producing a range of Highland Rum and Gins.
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The Distillery celebrates its' first Christmas, launching North Point Pilot Rum and two Distiller's Editions.
2021
An award-winning products and expansion at Forss
The distillery begins a private bottling service, producing a number of small-batch offerings to national acclaim.
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The site sees some major changes, with our stillhouse wall knocked through to create a set-down area for production!
Awards begin to flow, with Crosskirk Bay Gin and Skerra Spiced Rum winning Scottish Food and Drink Awards in Glasgow. The first of three Sustainability Awards from the Gin Guide.
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Tours begin at Forss, welcoming visitors to explore West Caithness and discover our range of spirits.
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With the help of a borrowed forklift, the first of four washbacks arrive at North Point Distillery. Reclaimed wood from a historic blending plant in Kilmarnock, this investment allowed the distillery to double its fermented capacity. The washbacks are named Angus, Duncan, Alexander and William.
2022
Continued growth and renewed purpose
Expansion of the distillery continues at pace, with 'Gertie' a 1000L wash still installed to support additional production and a 200L research and development still called 'Audrey'.
Warehouse 1, Skaill House, is opened and cask are laid down for the first time in our K-Rax systems, imported from the United States.
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Crosskirk Bay Gin becomes one of the best London Dry Gins in the world, scoring a truly exceptional 98 points out of 100 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.
North Point Spiced Rum becomes our first product to be stocked in a national supermarket, being listed in Co-operative stores across Scotland.
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Our production team swells to five members of staff, supporting the distilleries expansion and offering development roles to the local community for the first time.
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The distillery sponsors Reay Golf Clubs North Point Open for the first time, offering one of the best prizes in amateur golf... a very special cask of either Rum or Gin. With cocktail evenings being hosted for the first time in our renovated tasting room.
2023
Gold Awards and Whisky!
Nettie, our newest still, is installed at North Point Distillery. More than doubling our still capacity, she is the largest of our four stills and designed with a very special spirit in mind.
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The team becomes fourteen strong, with two newborns to boot! And our team win Craft Producer of the Year from the World Rum Awards, securing the Icons of Rum Accolade.
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The Distillery secured double gold medals at the 2023 Scottish Gin Awards, scooping Scotland's best London Dry Gin and the Excellence in Sustainability award.
After two years distilling in secret, North Point Distillery announces the launch of its very own Single Malt Whisky, Dalclagie.
The Future
The People. The Place. The Spirits.
We have a couple of products in the background that we plan to launch in 2024, and get back to expressing our creativity through more Distiller’s Editions. More news around expansion and plans for potential cold war bunker tours to follow.
Why don't you join us on our journey... you can subscribe here to be the first to know about our latest news and developments at the distillery!
Sustainability
Being on the north coast of Scotland, we witness the majesty of our planet first hand – but we’ve also witnessed the devastating effects of climate change on the wildlife populations, the weather, and the people. It’s not something we take lightly, so we’ve made every conscious effort to limit the footprint we leave behind and we are always striving to do more.
