Tomatin

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Tomatin is a small village on the River Findhorn in Strathdearn in the Scottish Highlands about 16 miles south of the city of Inverness. It contains a small local shop and a large malt whisky distillery. The Findhorn rises at Coinafearn, a large game estate near Tomatin, and then passes through Tomatin village itself. The village is now bypassed by the A9 trunk road.

The River Findhorn is crossed by the Highland Main Line railway and the A9 road just east of Tomatin

Meaning 'Hill of the Juniper' in Gaelic, at the last census in 2001 Tomatin had a population of 183¹. Many of the inhabitants are employed by local farms and estates, while others commute to Inverness and surrounding towns. Facilities in the village include a pub called the Tomatin Country Inn, a shop, a primary school and a village hall that is used for a number of social activities. Local estates generate a significant income by attracting wealthy businessmen to take part in grouse shooting; the shooting season begins on 12th August of each year, which is known as 'The Glorious Twelfth'.

It is perhaps best known for being the home of Tomatin whisky and the largest malt distillery in the world. Although it is thought that whisky has been distilled on the site since the 16th century, when cattle drovers would buy from illegal distillers, the distillery was not established until 1897 under the name of Tomatin Spey Distillery Co Ltd. In 1986 it was taken over by a Japanese conglomerate and was renamed Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd.2

As part of the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency it is represented in the UK Parliament by Danny Alexander MP (Liberal Democrat); in the Scottish Parliament it is in the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, represented by Fergus Ewing MSP (Scottish National Party).