LOST DISTILLERIES IN SCOTLAND

 THE LOST DISTILLERIES OF SCOTLAND

Ever since the early days of whisky production, distilleries have appeared and disappeared. Some failed, some merged, some literally exploded, and the Scottish landscape is littered with the remains of factual distilling. The Whisky Exchange

In the mid-1800s, there were more than 200 licensed distilleries in Scotland. In the next hundred years, the Pattison Brothers scandal, poor economic and political circumstances of the previous three decades and zero reserves had taken their toll, and around 70 of these had closed. US Prohibition killed off a number of distilleries whose main income came from export to America, and shortly after the UK was stricken by the economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s. After the Second World War around 70 distilleries closed down for good, though as the UK slowly started to build itself back up again the popularity and growth of whisky continued to increase up until the 1980s, when economic difficulties forced the industry to make cut backs. 

At that time, blended Scotch was de rigueur, so when cut backs were made, they were done with blended whisky in mind. Smaller distilleries closed, as did those whose whisky didn’t make much of an impact when used as a blending component. After the war, sales of whisky increased virtually every year until 1980, but for the next few years, sales dropped dramatically, leaving a whisky surplus and, inevitably, this led to the closure of many more distilleries by 1984.

It’s not every day that it’s announced that a closed distillery is to reopen, but two on the same day is unheard of. At the beginning of October 2017, Diageo announced that it was going to reopen Brora and Port Ellen, both closed for more than 30 years. Not to be outdone, the very next day, Ian Macleod, owner of Glenoyne and Tamdhu, announced its news: Rosebank distillery, closed since 1993, was also going to reopen.

DISTILLERIES

NAME	PERIOD	STATUS
Banff (S)	1863-1983	Demolished
Ben Wyvis (H)	1965-1976	Demolished
Brora (H)	1819-1983	Dismantled
Caperdonich (S)	1898-2002	Silent
Coleburn (S)	1897-1985	Dismantled
Convalmore (S)	1893-1985	Dismantled
Dallas Dhu (S)	1898-1983	Silent
Glen Albyn (H)	1846-1983	Demolished
Glenesk (H)	1897-1985	Demolished
Glenlochy (H)	1898-1983	Demolished
Glen Mhor (S)	1892-1983	Demolished
Glenugie (H)	1831-1983	Demolished
Glenury Royal (H)	1825-1985	Demolished
Hillside (H)	1897-1985	Demolished
Imperial (S)	1897-2000	Silent
Inverleven (L)	1938-1991	Silent
Kinclaith (L)	1958-1975	Demolished
Ladyburn (L)	1966-1975	Silent
Linlithgow (L)	1753-1983	Demolished
Littlemill (L)	1772-1994	Demolished
Lochside (H)	1957-1996	Demolished
Malt Mill (I)	1908-1960	Dismantled
Millburn (H)	1805-1985	Demolished
Moffat (L)	1965-1988	Demolished
North Port (H)	1820-1983	Demolished
Pittyvaich (S)	1975-1993	Demolished
Port Ellen (I)	1825-1983	Dismantled
Rosebank (L)	1840-1993	Dismantled
St. Magdalene (L)	1753-1983	Demolished

      Legend:  (S) Speyside;  (H)  Highlands;  (L)  Lowlands;  (I)  Islay;

WHY DO DISTILLERIES CLOSE?

When one looks at the distilleries which closed during the 1980s, the question always arises as to why these particular distilleries were chosen for closure? The answer is a combination of economics and politics.

Until the late 1980s, most of the whisky sold around the world was blended Scotch. Single malts were not really important and were very small in terms of volume sales. Hence, when cuts needed to be made during the slump, distilleries producing whisky which had little flavour impact in blended Scotches were shut down, especially in cases where the size of the distillery was small or where the distillery was located in a remote part of Scotland. In turn, the capacity at the larger, more economical distilleries, was increased.

While whisky lovers often take a more romantic view, distilleries are, in the end, businesses. Unfortunately, this means that business decisions are made and distilleries close. Sometimes, as was more often the case in the more distant past, companies went bankrupt or couldn’t afford to keep distilleries open. However, more recently there have been more pragmatic decisions – when the whisky industry isn’t doing so well, companies that own multiple distilleries have closed some of them.

This is what happened in the case of Port Ellen, Brora and Rosebank. In 1983, the year that Port Ellen and Brora closed, and a decade later in the case of Rosebank, many distilleries across Scotland stopped production. The demand for whisky had fallen and the producers needed to save money. The Distillers Company Ltd, owners of all three distilleries, decided that they were surplus to requirements and closed them all – Caol Ila produced whisky similar to Port Ellen, Clynelish produced enough whisky without the assistance of Brora (which was right next door), and Glenkinchie fulfilled the company’s needs for the light Lowland whisky that Rosebank had become well known for.

At the time, single malts weren’t as popular as today and the closures didn’t cause much of an outcry. However, years later, whisky from all three distilleries is now held in high regard and changes hands for thousands of pounds a bottle.

Little did anyone know that single malts would become a phenomenon and that a new style of consumer looking for a diversity of tastes and flavours would seek out the different single malts from around Scotland in the hope of finding whisky nirvana.

There is currently stock still available from around 30 lost distilleries, with prices for most of these increasing with every new release. The question to ask is which will disappear first. It is very difficult to know how much stock from each of these distilleries is still out there, and sometimes we only find out when it’s too late. Lochside sold in 2011 for £40 a bottle, but next thing one learned was that Gordon & MacPhail had no stock left. The price for Lochside rose very quickly and even now, a few years down the line, one can still find new releases of Lochside, although, as with other distilleries, they are becoming increasingly rare.

               Brora 33 YO                                 Glenesk 38                                Rosebank31                      St Magdalene 40

The biggest sellers over the past two decades have included the trinity of lost distilleries: Brora, Port Ellen and Rosebank. Supplies of maturing whisky have started to wane and new bottlings have begun to dry up. This led to projects where all three distilleries would be rebuilt, refurbished and reopened. With so much time having passed since the distilleries closed, the nature of the new whiskies is still very much unknown. But we have years to wait before the whisky is ready, and whisky from all three is still available, if increasingly rare.

With bottles from lost distilleries becoming more hard to find, whisky fans have turned to whisky bars and shows to have a chance to try them. At shows like The Whisky Show: Old & Rare in Glasgow, Limburg's Whisky Fair and The WhiskyBase Gathering in Rotterdam, bottles from closed distilleries are readily opened and sold by the dram. Bars like Singapore's Auld Alliance, The Mash Tun in Tokyo and Dornoch Castle in Scotland specialise in whiskies from closed distilleries and are destinations for those seeking out whisky from lost distilleries.

WHY DO WHISKIES FROM CLOSED DISTILLERIES COST SO MUCH?

A simple question with many answers. The easiest is just rarity: the closed distilleries aren’t making whisky any more, and as people drink it, there’s less of it available each day. Whether it’s old bottles, filled years ago, or casks of whisky, there won’t be any more once it’s gone.

Also, the whiskies that are still in casks are getting older. With that, the price is rising thanks to not only the angels taking their share but also the usual year-by-year costs of nurturing a cask to maturity.

Thankfully, while the owners (and former owners) of closed distilleries often don’t have much stock left, the independents are helping to fill the gaps. Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory, Douglas Laing and Hunter Laing all have great stocks from lost distilleries. Whether you want a bottle of recently closed Imperial, long-lost Dallas Dhu or super-rare Kinclaith, the independents have you covered.

              Glenlochy 35                               Port Ellen 35                           North Port Brechin 40                           Coleburn 47