The Glenrothes distillery
| Region: Speyside | |
|---|---|
| Location | Rothes |
| Owner | Edrington |
| Founded | 1879 |
| Status | Operational |
| Water source | Spring on site |
| No. of stills | 5 wash stills 5 spirit stills |
| Capacity | 5,200,000 L |
| The Glenrothes | |
| Age(s) | The 15, The 18, The 25 |
| Age(s) | The 32, The 42, The 51 |
The Glenrothes distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the town of Rothes in the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery sits beside the Burn of Rothes, in a glen on the edge of the town.
The Glenrothes does not have a visitor centre or run any public tours or tastings, with visits limited to private invitation only.
History
The distillery was built in 1878 by James Stuart & Co, who then also worked the nearby Macallan distillery. The first whisky ran off the stills on the 28 December 1879, the same day as the Tay Bridge disaster.[1]
The distillery itself had a shaky start and turbulent history. Over-proof whisky is notoriously highly flammable and the distillery has paid the price. Extension work began in 1896 on a second malt kiln, and an increase in stills from two to four but, before the work was finished, a fire in December 1897 caused serious damage. The distillery saw further damage with a serious explosion in 1903.
Then, in 1922, a fire in Warehouse Number One caused the loss of 200,000 imperial gallons (910,000 L) of whisky. Another fire in 1962 afforded the opportunity for expansion and a further re-build in 1982 extended the still hall to five wash stills and five spirit stills.[2]
References
- ^ Grainmash.com (2008). "The Glenrothes Distillery". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23.
- ^ Glasgow University (2008). "Records of Highland Distilleries". Archived from the original on 2011-08-13.
