Our Story
The story of Dartmoor Whisky Distillery
Dartmoor Whisky Distillery was born from a simple ambition: to create exceptional English single malt whisky with a true sense of place.
Inspired by the landscape, heritage and independent spirit of Dartmoor, our distillery brings together local ingredients, traditional craftsmanship and a beautifully restored copper still to produce whisky with real character.
From our beginnings in Bovey Tracey to award-winning releases enjoyed across the UK and beyond, every chapter of our story has been shaped by patience, passion and the people behind the distillery.
Discover the journey behind Dartmoor Whisky and the place that continues to inspire every bottle.
The origins of Dartmoor Whisky Distillery can be traced back to Islay in the Hebrides several years ago, where a group of whisky enthusiasts had travelled to make whisky. On their return, they began to question why there weren’t any whisky distilleries in Devon.
The county’s climate and soil is perfect for growing great quality barley, the granite geology of Dartmoor is a wonderful filter for clear spring water, and the exceptional air quality with sea breezes provide great storage during maturation.
With outstanding local producers like Warminster Maltings, one of the oldest established traditional barley malting houses in the country, and more cask beer brewers than any other county in England, all of the components to make a very fine single malt whisky are here in Devon.
After working at Bruichladdich Distillery on the island of Islay back in 2009, our founder Greg Millar dreamt up this project. With the help of Simon Crow, this dream became a reality and Dartmoor Whisky was born.
Greg scoured the globe for the very best still to create our new make spirit, and found our beautiful 1966 copper still in the heart of the French countryside in Cognac. The still arrived in Devon in 2014 and was soon installed in its new home, the Old Bovey Tracey Town Hall. This wonderful Victorian building is the perfect place to house our distillery and gave the building a much-needed new lease of life.
Mr Frank McHardy, a master distiller with over 50 years of experience at Springbank and Bushmills Distilleries, travelled from Campbeltown in Scotland to assess our project. We were delighted when Frank agreed to be our Master Distiller, and he has guided us throughout each stage of our process to ensure that we produce a very fine single malt whisky.
Today, Dartmoor Whisky is sold across Europe via our online shop, and distributed throughout the UK via hundreds of stockists including spirits shops, farm shops and independent stores. You can see our full list of stockists here.
What began as an ambition to create exceptional single malt whisky in Devon has grown into something we are incredibly proud of.
In 2026, our Dartmoor Whisky Sherry Cask was named Best English Single Cask Single Malt at the prestigious World Whiskies Awards, as well as receiving Gold recognition in its category.
For us, this award represents more than a medal. It is recognition of the years of patience, craftsmanship and belief that have gone into building Dartmoor Whisky Distillery — from restoring our historic copper still and sourcing quality local ingredients to carefully selecting the casks that give each expression its individual character.
Today, Dartmoor Whisky stands alongside some of the finest single malt whiskies produced in England, while remaining firmly rooted in the landscape, people and independent spirit of Dartmoor.
