Glentauchers Distillery

The distillery stands on a fringe of the Craigellachie Forest

History

James Buchanan, without any knowledge of the intricacies of distillation, set up his own company in 1884 to produce his own brand of whisky; his timing was spot-on because Scotch doubled in popularity over the following decade. He did not even have any capital, beginning with just credits from his subsequent partners in Glentauchers. He went on to spectacular success, was raised to the peerage and, even after giving away large amounts of his personal fortune, left £7 million pounds when he died at 85 years of age.

The distillery stands on a fringe of the Craigellachie Forest and was ‘mothballed’ in 1985. It has now been reopened under new owners, Allied Distillers, and started production again in 1989.

James Buchanan & Co. Ltd., proprietors of the Black and White brand, were involved from the outset with Glentauchers. The distillery was completed in 1898 and in time a rail siding was completed. The water supply was copious so it was collected in a dam and then run through a turbine that powered everything. Substantial remodelling was carried out from 1923 to 1925, including a new spirit store designed by Charles Doig. The distillery was rebuilt in 1966 with extra stills.

The rebuilding in 1966 succeeded in creating a tidied-up exterior leaving some of the dark but shapely Victorian stone buildings. The floor maltings lost that function in 1969 and the space was given over to warehousing for casks. There are 3 wash and 3 spirit stills now in operation.