Glen Garioch Distillery

The Glen Garioch was founded in 1797, making it one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland. The Garioch, is renowned as an area of Aberdeenshire that is fertile and had long been devoted to agriculture.

Having changed hands many times over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Glen Garioch distillery was shut down in 1968. Stanley P Morrison acquired the distillery two years later. In 1973, following extensive renovations, production resumed. The whisky produced was much more reminiscent of traditional Highland single malts, this was due in part to the floor maltings at the distillery and the malt maker’s schooling on Islay, where he learnt the joys of peated whiskies. At a time when the Islay malt whiskies were very fashionable, Glen Garioch’s new, robust character did much for the fortunes of the distillery.

Today, the distillery is under the Japanese Beam Suntory ownership, after they acquired Morrison Bowmore in 1994. Glen Garioch currently runs at three quarters of capacity, producing around 700,000 litres per annum and selling roughly one third of this yearly, much being exported for the Asian market. There are several house bottlings, as well as a few exotic finishes and a handful of independent expressions.