For the first time since 1837, there is a single malt that was actually distilled in the Scottish Borders. The Borders Distillery in Hawick has unveiled The Borders First Release, an eight-year-old first-fill bourbon single malt finished in malmsey Madeira casks. This is the whisky the distillery has been building towards since spirit first ran from its stills in 2018.
The headline facts first. It is bottled at 46% ABV, matured in first-fill bourbon and finished in malmsey Madeira casks, and carries an eight-year age statement. Only 10,000 bottles exist worldwide. It goes on sale from 24 September at £46 RRP through select UK retailers, with international distribution to follow.
That price is worth pausing on. An inaugural, age-stated, strictly limited release from a genuinely new whisky region could have commanded a premium and a waiting list. Instead it lands at £46, which also happens to mirror the 46% ABV. For a first bottling, that is a restrained number.
Why a Borders single malt is actually news
The Scottish Borders spent close to 190 years without a working whisky distillery. The last spirit before this era was distilled in 1837, and everything since has been made somewhere else. So when The Borders Distillery opened in 2018, it became the first Scotch whisky distillery in the region in almost two centuries. This First Release is the moment that decision turns into liquid you can pour.
What makes it more than a novelty is the patience behind it. Rather than rushing a three-year-old out of the door the moment it qualified as Scotch, the team held stock and waited until an eight-year-old expression was ready to introduce the house style. The stated style is fruity, sweet and aromatic, and this bottling is meant to be the calling card for it.
The whisky writer Charles MacLean, quoted in the distillery’s own release material, sums it up as “easy drinking and more-ish.”
Who makes The Borders First Release
The Borders Distillery sits in Hawick, a town known for its textile trade in cashmere and tweed. It was founded in 2013 by four former William Grant & Sons executives, John Fordyce, Tim Carton, Tony Roberts and George Tait, on the idea of making a single malt rooted in the Borders rather than borrowed from elsewhere. Distilling began in 2018.
That textile heritage shows up on the bottle itself. The foil-embossed weave logo is a direct nod to the interlacing threads of the region’s manufacturing history, now carried forward by the distillery. Under managing director Giancarlo Bianchi, the reserve of maturing stock built up since 2018 is now starting to reach the market.
“This inaugural single malt represents years of dedication from the team,” Bianchi said. “The ambition was to create a whisky that reflects the place it comes from. For our inaugural release, we’ve chosen a secondary maturation in Madeira casks, adding subtle layers of complexity while allowing the character of our spirit to shine through.”
What malmsey Madeira does to it
For international readers less familiar with the cask: malmsey is the richest and sweetest of the four classic Madeira styles, made from the Malvasia grape. As a finishing cask on top of first-fill bourbon maturation, it tends to push dried-fruit sweetness and a rounder texture into the spirit, rather than the drier, nuttier character you get from the leaner Madeira styles. On paper, that lines up neatly with the fruity, sweet profile the distillery is aiming for.
The Borders First Release: tasting notes
We have not tasted this bottle yet, so the notes below are the distillery’s own stated profile. We will publish a full scored review once we have a glass in front of us.
Nose: Honey, vanilla, rich sultanas, bright citrus
Palate: Sweet caramel, orchard and dried fruit, warm and rounded
Finish: Hazelnut and buttery macadamia, lingering
ABV: 46% | Cask: First-fill bourbon, malmsey Madeira finish | Age:8 years | Price: £46
Price and where to buy The Borders First Release
Price: £46 RRP On sale: from 24 September 2026 Where: select UK retailers first, with international distribution to follow How many: 10,000 bottles worldwide
If you are reading this outside the UK, elsewhere in Europe, the US or further afield, the practical advice is to watch the specialist retailers who ship internationally, since UK release comes first and the wider rollout follows. With only 10,000 bottles in total, a first release from a brand-new region is the sort of thing that can move quickly once collectors notice it. Full details are on the distillery’s own site at thebordersdistillery.com.
Is it worth chasing?
We are reserving a verdict on the liquid until we have tasted it. On the proposition, though, this is an easy one to make the case for. At £46 you get an eight-year-old, age-stated, first-fill bourbon single malt with a malmsey Madeira finish, from the first distillery to make whisky in the Scottish Borders in nearly 190 years, in a run of only 10,000 bottles. That combination of a genuine “first,” a real age statement and a sensible price does not come along often.
Who is it for? Collectors who like owning firsts, and drinkers who lean towards fruity, sweet, Madeira-influenced malts. Who is it not for? Anyone chasing peat or cask-strength intensity, since this is a 46% aperitif-style dram by design.
We will get a bottle, score it properly, and report back on whether the whisky lives up to the moment.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Borders First Release? The Borders First Release is the first single malt Scotch whisky from The Borders Distillery in Hawick, and the first single malt distilled in the Scottish Borders since 1837. It is an eight-year-old, first-fill bourbon matured malt finished in malmsey Madeira casks, bottled at 46% ABV in a run of 10,000 bottles.
What does The Borders First Release taste like? The distillery describes it as fruity and sweet. The nose leads with honey and vanilla alongside rich sultanas and bright citrus. The palate brings sweet caramel and dried fruit, and it finishes on hazelnut and buttery macadamia. Whisky writer Charles MacLean calls it “easy drinking and more-ish.”
How much does The Borders First Release cost? It has an RRP of £46 for a 70cl bottle at 46% ABV. That price is notably restrained for an inaugural, strictly limited single malt from a new distillery, and it happens to match the 46% ABV. It goes on sale from 24 September 2026.
Where can I buy The Borders First Release? It is available from 24 September 2026 through select UK retailers, with international distribution to follow. Buyers outside the UK should watch specialist whisky retailers that ship internationally, since the wider rollout comes after the UK launch. Only 10,000 bottles exist worldwide.
What casks are used in The Borders First Release? It is matured in first-fill bourbon casks and finished in malmsey Madeira casks. Malmsey is the richest and sweetest style of Madeira, made from the Malvasia grape, which adds dried-fruit sweetness and a rounder texture on top of the vanilla and honey notes the bourbon cask provides.
What is The Borders Distillery known for? The Borders Distillery opened in Hawick in 2018 as the first Scotch whisky distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837. Founded in 2013 by four former William Grant & Sons executives, it aims for a fruity, sweet and aromatic house style, and draws on the region’s textile heritage, seen in its woven logo.
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