Annandale Distillery, Scotland’s single cask, single malt scotch whisky distillery, is proud to announce the first public release of its 10-year-old age statement whisky: Annandale Man O’Words 10-Year-Old Fresh Ex-Bourbon Cask #125 and the peated Annandale Man O’Sword 10-Year-Old Fresh Ex-Bourbon Cask #69, available from 27 March 2025.
This milestone marks a historic moment for the independent distillery based in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, which was painstakingly restored and revived in 2014 by Professor David Thomson and Teresa Church. Together, they combine Thomson’s deep connection to his native Dumfries and scientific expertise in sensory research with Teresa’s passion for restoring historic buildings. Their shared love of single cask, single malt scotch whisky and history underpins Annandale’s journey.
Annandale Distillery, located just eight miles north of the border, was originally founded in 1836 and was one of Scotland’s first legal distilleries. Today, it produces both peated and unpeated single cask, single malt: Man O’Words represents its unpeated range, while Man O’Sword is its peated counterpart. Annandale Man O’Sword continues the distillery’s legacy of peated single malt production, a style for which it was famed as early as 1887.
Peated or unpeated, what unites all of Annandale’s single cask, single malts is a distinctive house style of a rich, characterful spirit with notes of orchard fruit. To achieve this, Thomson enlisted the expertise of his long-time friend, the late Dr Jim Swan, whom he met at a sensory science conference in the 1980s. Dr Swan helped design the distillery’s setup, incorporating his signature twin copper spirit stills to maximise copper contact, refining the base spirit and enhancing its fruity characteristics. Of course, it also helps to use the finest ingredients, the best malted barley in Scotland, and casks sourced from the world’s most revered vineyards, bodegas, distilleries, and breweries – each bringing its own unique history and influence.
The name Man O’Sword is an homage to King Robert the Bruce, the 7th Lord of Annandale. A statue of the legendary King of Scots stands in the town centre of Annan, wielding a sword in his right hand and holding the Declaration of Arbroath in his left.
Meanwhile, Man O’Words — an anagram of Man O’Sword — honours another local icon, Robert Burns, who lived in Dumfries from 1788 until his death and regularly frequented The Globe Inn, which he called his ’favourite howff’.
Like all Annandale Man O’Sword and Man O’Words releases, these whiskies have been bottled from a single cask — specifically, a fresh ex-Bourbon cask from Kentucky. They are bottled at cask strength (57.9% and 58.8% ABV, respectively) with no chill filtration. With single cask single malt, there is nowhere to hide — no vatting or cask finishing to blend out or dilute flavours.
At Annandale, individual casks are ready when they are ready. Each cask is sensorially evaluated by hand and nose, released one at a time when the flavour profile is deemed just right. As a result, it is impossible to predict which casks will be released next, at what age, or in what wood they will have matured. However, the distillery remains committed to continuing its 10-year-old age statement releases alongside other aged single cask, single malt whiskies — exactly when and at what age depends entirely on the cask.
Thomson, co-founder of Annandale Distillery, comments: “Our primary motivation when restoring Annandale Distillery was to reintroduce the tradition of single malt scotch whisky to the south of Scotland. The ambition became to not only revive the distillery but to elevate it beyond its former glory, producing world-class single cask, single malt scotch whiskies.
“Ten years into our journey, we are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved. We’re excited to have the flexibility to release remarkable age statement single cask, single malt scotch whiskies, each offering true distinction across a variety of casks. Some may call single cask, single malt the simplest way of making whisky but, for us, it is the most honest. And that’s exactly how we like it.”
TECH SPECS
Annandale Man O’Words 10-Year-Old Fresh ex-Bourbon Cask 125
- Cask Type: Fresh ex-Bourbon
- Spirit Type: Unpeated
- Age: 10 years old
- Bottling Type: Single Cask
- Number of Bottles: 234
- ABV: 58.8%
- RRP: £110
This Annandale 10-year-old Man O’Words was matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace Distillery. The whisky is a balance of stewed apple, pears, apricot, coconut,hints of creamy vanilla, toffee, and a floral, green and slightly waxy backnote.Annandale Man O’Sword 10-Year-Old Fresh Ex-Bourbon Cask 69
- Type: Fresh ex-Bourbon
- Spirit Type: Peated
- Age: 10 years old
- Bottling Type: Single Cask
- Number of Bottles: 224
- ABV: 57.9%
- RRP: £110
This 10-year-old Annandale Man O’Sword was matured in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace Distillery. Subtle woodsmoke opens up to a sweet balance of the Granny Smith apple, vanilla, cream soda, wood spice, linseed, toffee, floral hints and parma violets
