Top 10 Distilleries in Chile
Chile is best known internationally for its wine, but the country has a distillation heritage stretching back centuries. Pisco — the grape-based spirit produced from Muscat varieties grown in the hyperarid valleys of the Atacama and Coquimbo regions — has been made in northern Chile since at least the seventeenth century. Today Chile's distillery landscape has expanded well beyond pisco. A generation of craft producers has brought single malt whisky, gin, rum, and experimental grape spirits to a domestic and export market that is increasingly sophisticated. The country's extreme geographical range, from the driest non-polar desert on Earth in the north to subarctic Patagonia in the south, provides distillers with an unusual variety of raw material sources and ageing environments.
For those interested in exploring Chilean spirits in depth, check the full map for producer locations across the country's elongated geography. The contrast between a pisco distillery perched above the Elqui Valley and a whisky warehouse in the Chilean Lake District tells a compelling story about how terroir shapes what ends up in the glass.
1. Capel, Elqui Valley, Coquimbo Region
Capel is Chile's largest pisco producer and a cooperative representing hundreds of grape growers across the Elqui and Limarí valleys. Founded in 1939 as Cooperativa Agrícola Control Pisquero de Elqui y Limarí, the company operates multiple distilleries and produces pisco across a range of styles, from the young unaged Tradicional to the Double Aged expression matured in oak. Capel's facilities in the Elqui Valley are among the most visited distillery sites in Chile. The cooperative model has been important in sustaining smallholder grape farming in one of the world's most extreme agricultural environments, where drip-fed Muscat vines must be nursed through a near-complete absence of rainfall.
2. Pisco Mistral, Elqui Valley, Coquimbo Region
Mistral is the premium brand of Pisquera de Chile, one of the country's two dominant pisco producers alongside Capel. The brand takes its name from the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The distillery's Gran Nobel expression — aged in oak and reaching higher proof levels than standard pisco — is widely regarded as one of Chile's finest aged pisco releases. Mistral has invested significantly in tourism infrastructure at its Elqui Valley facility, and the visitor experience combines landscape, poetry, and distillation history in a way that few spirits-related sites in South America can match.
3. Alto del Carmen, Huasco Valley, Atacama Region
Alto del Carmen operates in the Huasco Valley of the Atacama Region, producing pisco from Muscat Blanc and Pedro Ximénez grapes grown at elevations between 1,200 and 2,600 metres above sea level. The distillery is particularly respected for its single-valley expressions that emphasise the specific character of Huasco fruit — somewhat richer and more aromatic than Elqui equivalents, with a concentrated sweetness that reflects the extreme solar radiation at altitude. Alto del Carmen's releases include a reserve-grade aged pisco that competes directly with premium Peruvian expressions and has performed well in international competitions.
4. Limarí Pisco, Limarí Valley, Coquimbo Region
The Limarí Valley is the southernmost of Chile's three recognised pisco production valleys and benefits from a distinct microclimate influenced by Pacific fog intrusion. Limarí Pisco operates a boutique production focused on aromatic pisco styles that showcase the valley's cooler conditions relative to Elqui and Huasco. Their most distinctive products are expressions made from Italia grape varieties, which produce unusually floral and herbal pisco with notes of orange blossom, fresh herbs, and white stone fruit. The Limarí Valley is increasingly attracting attention from wine collectors, and the pisco operation has benefited from that reputational uplift.
5. Destilería Cooperativa Cochiguaz, Elqui Valley
Cochiguaz is a smaller cooperative producer located deep in the inner Elqui Valley, in a section that has become associated with both astronomical tourism and artisanal food and beverage production. The altitude here exceeds 1,000 metres and nights are cold even in summer, which affects fermentation kinetics and ultimately influences the aromatic profile of the pisco produced. Cochiguaz produces limited-volume releases distributed primarily through specialist shops and direct sales to visitors. The operation represents the craft end of Chilean pisco production and is valued for its transparency about grape sourcing and distillation methodology.
6. Destilería Los Nichos, Maule Region
Los Nichos is a pioneering craft whisky operation located in the Maule Region of central Chile, where the country's wine industry transitions from the arid north to more temperate southern conditions. The distillery began producing single malt whisky in the early 2010s, sourcing malted barley from both domestic and imported sources and ageing in a combination of ex-wine and new American oak casks. The local climate — warm summers and cool, wet winters — creates a relatively fast ageing environment compared to Scotland, and the whisky takes on colour and wood influence more rapidly. Los Nichos releases have attracted attention from Chilean whisky enthusiasts as evidence that the country can produce serious malt spirit.
7. Destilería Woki, Santiago Metropolitan Region
Woki is a craft gin and spirits producer based in Santiago that has become one of the most visible representatives of Chile's contemporary artisan distillery movement. Founded by a group of engineers and food scientists, Woki applies systematic botanical research to gin development, sourcing unusual native Chilean botanicals including merkén (smoked chilli), boldo leaf, and calafate berry. Their core London Dry-style gin has won regional awards, and the experimental limited releases — some incorporating native wild herbs from Patagonia — have attracted international press coverage. Woki operates a small tasting room accessible to the public on appointment.
8. Destilería Patagonia, Los Lagos Region
Destilería Patagonia operates in the Chilean Lake District, in a landscape of snowcapped volcanoes, ancient Valdivian temperate rainforest, and glacier-fed rivers. The distillery produces single malt whisky using local water of exceptional purity and is among the first Chilean producers to have age-stated stock available for tasting. The environmental conditions — cool, humid, with relatively low seasonal temperature variation compared to central Chile — slow maturation and produce a spirit that those familiar with Scottish whisky will find in a comparable neighbourhood of flavour. Limited annual releases are marketed primarily to domestic consumers but are beginning to reach export markets.
9. Compañía Pisquera de Chile, Multiple Facilities
Compañía Pisquera de Chile (known as the company behind the ABA and Tres Erres brands, among others) operates multiple facilities across the Elqui and Limarí valleys and produces a wide range of piscos for both the domestic mass market and the premium segment. The company has invested in estate-grown grape programs, where traceability from vine to bottle is maintained throughout production. Their premium Reservado Especial line uses traditional copper pot stills and is aged for a minimum of twelve months in neutral oak, producing a round, approachable spirit with good aromatic complexity. It is widely available in Chilean supermarkets and restaurants.
10. Destilería Maqui, Araucanía Region
Destilería Maqui takes its name and its primary botanical from the maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis), a dark purple fruit native to the temperate forests of southern Chile and long used by Mapuche communities as a food and medicine. The distillery produces a range of spirits including a maqui-infused gin, a maqui eau-de-vie, and an experimental aged spirit made from fermented maqui juice. The products are positioned at the intersection of craft spirits and Chilean indigenous food culture. Distribution is limited, and the distillery operates primarily as a visitor destination and direct-to-consumer producer, but its work has been recognised in the growing international conversation around native ingredient spirits.