On the shores of the Dornoch Firth lies Balblair Distillery, one of the oldest in Scotland. Across the Firth in Creich, Baddaroch Distillery was founded in 1823 operating for only a decade. They had to face competition from an astonishing number of illegal distilleries, particularly in Strathoykel and Strathcarron, always trying to outwit the Inland Revenue officers stationed in Bonar Bridge.
The first taxes on whisky, then called “aquavitae” (in Gaelic uisge. . .