Glenburgie distillery

Glenburgie distillery
The building of the 2004-renovated Glenburgie distillery
The building of the 2004-renovated Glenburgie distillery
Region: Speyside
LocationAlves, Moray, Scotland
OwnerChivas Brothers
(Pernod Ricard)
Founded1810
StatusOperational
No. of stills3 wash (11,750 L),[1] 3 spirit (15,000 L)
Capacity4,200,000 litres of pure alcohol per year
Mothballed1870 to 1878, 1927 to 1935, 2000 - 2004

Glenburgie distillery, (also known as Glenburgie-Glenlivet, Glen Burgie or Glenburry) is Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located near Alves, Moray, Scotland.

History

There are mentions of a distillery being founded as early as 1810, then known as Kilnflat.[2] It wasn't until 1829 that official records for the distillery show up. After running into financial difficulty, the distillery closed in 1870[3] before being renamed Glenburgie in 1871.[2] It re-opened in 1878, under Charles Kay.[3] There were ownership changes and around 1880 it came into the possession of Alex Fraser and Company.[4] It was then incorporated in 1895. This situation lasted 30 years; it was liquidated in 1925, and then was closed again between 1927 and 1935.[3]

Around that time the distillery was run by Margaret Nichol, considered the first female manager of any whisky distillery. The distillery was sold to Hiram Walker in 1936.[2][5]

In a new rejuvenation in 1958, two Lomond stills were installed, alongside the existing stills.[3] The whisky distilled in these stills was kept separate from the rest of the whisky produced by the distillery, and sold under the name Glencraig.[3] Production continued up until 1981 when the experiment with Lomond stills was abandoned, and the stills were replaced with regular stills. In 1987, Allied Lyons buys Hiram Walker.[3]

In 2000, production stopped entirely at Glenburgie. The distillery was completely rebuilt in 2003-2004, only retaining the stills from the old distillery.[3]

In 2005, Pernod Ricard acquired Allied Domecq, owners of Glenburgie distillery, adding it to the company Chivas Brothers subsidiary .[6] Soon after, in 2006 another two stills were added, bringing the total production capacity to 4,200,000 litres of pure alcohol per year.[3]

Location

The distillery is located on an estate at the Mill Buie hills near Kinloss.[2]

Production

Most of the whisky distilled at Glenburgie is used for blends, most importantly Ballantine's, but also Old Smuggler.

References

  1. ^ Glenburgie distillery
  2. ^ a b c d Helen Arthur (2002) [1997]. The single malt companion (in Dutch). Lisbeth Machielsen (trans.). Libero. p. 118. ISBN 90-5764-236-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Glenburgie distillery profile". Maltmadness.
  4. ^ "Glenburgie Distillery". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 7 March 1895. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Distilleries Sold". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Scotland. 3 December 1936. Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Pernod Ricard successfully completes acquisition of Allied Domecq Archived 3 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, from the Pernod Ricard website

57°37′18″N 3°31′00″W / 57.62179°N 3.51675°W / 57.62179; -3.51675