Gavin D.Smith investigates the lost fortunes of Glasgow’s other distillery.
Littlemill distillery stood on the north bank of the River Clyde at Bowling, 12 miles from Glasgow, and just a short distance from Auchentoshan.
However, the contrast in recent fortunes of the two distilleries could hardly be more different.
While Auchentoshan is a thriving, Lowland malt whisky re...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 70 published on
Gavin D Smith delves into Brora’s past.
Unlike many of the distilleries featured so far in this series, Brora remains externally intact, and looks as though with a little ‘TLC’ it could recommence distilling without too much trouble.Once inside,however it becomes obvious that appearances can be deceptive.
Most of the distilling plant has...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 69 published on 18/01/2008
In the latest in our series Gavin D.Smithtracks down the story behind Glenury Royal
Glenury Royal distillery can claim a number of notable distinctions. For example, it is one of only three Scottish distilleries – along with Lochnagar and Brackla – ever to be granted permission to use the ‘royal’prefix or suffix. Surely, it is also the only distillery to have been constructed by aM...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 68 published on 07/12/2007
Gavin D Smithlooks at the recent loss of Dumbarton,a once vast grain distillery
Just as Scotland’s complement of malt distilleries has shrunk during the past two decades, so has its range of grain facilities.
The historic plants of Carsebridge and Cambus in central Scotland closed in 1983 and 1993 respectively, while the huge Caledonian grain distillery in Edinburgh fell silen...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 67 published on 01/11/2007
In the latest of our series Gavin D Smithlooks at the history behind Convalmore
Some Scottish whisky-producing regions such as the Lowlands and Campbeltown have been decimated over the years, but the malt-making heartland of Speyside has escaped comparatively unscathed. This has much to do with the fact that from the late 19th century onwards, with blended whisky taking the wor...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 66 published on 25/09/2007
Gavin D Smithlooks at the comeback of a Speyside classic
Optimism abounds in the world of Scotch whisky right now. The apparently endless potential of markets such as China and India is causing analysts to predict a future shortage of spirit and consequent price rises. Faced with a likely dearth of whisky, distillers throughout Scotland are cranking up pr...
Whisky Spotlight
from Issue 66 published on 25/09/2007
In the latest of our series Gavin D Smith looks at the history behind Rosebank
For many aficionados, Rosebank remains the quintessential Lowland single malt, although the distillery stopped producing spirit 14 years ago.
Michael Jackson describes Rosebank as “The finest example of a Lowland malt…” and considers its demise “…a grievous loss.” Overall, time has not been kind to...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 65 published on 20/07/2007
Gavin D Smithmeets the man behind the classic Highland malt
Dalmore distillery is the jewel in Whyte & Mackay’s crown. Located 20 miles north of Inverness, on the shores of the Cromarty Firth, Dalmore dates back to 1839 and has belonged to the Glasgow-based company since 1960.
It produces what is arguably one of the finest Highland malts on the market and h...
Whisky Interview
from Issue 65 published on 20/07/2007
In the latest of our series Gavin D Smith investigates another gem
Until the 1980s, the Highland capital of Inverness boasted three working distilleries, but today two have vanished without trace, while the third survives in the form of a restaurant and bar.
That survivor is Millburn, while Gen Albyn and Glen Mhor are lost beneath the tarmac and concrete of a reta...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 64 published on 01/06/2007
In the latest of our new series,Gavin D Smith delves in to Port Ellen’s past
It is a fair bet that if Whisky Magazine was to conduct a readers’ poll to establish which closed distillery of the past half century represented the greatest loss, Port Ellen would come out very near the top. This is partly due to the continuing passion for all things Islay, but also because Port E...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 63 published on 20/04/2007
In the first of a new series Gavin D. Smithgoes in search of whisky’s lost heritage
The Scotch whisky industry has always been prone to periods of ‘boom’ and ‘bust.’ During the boom times new distilleries have been constructed, while bust has inevitably meant plant closures.
The luckiest of the distilleries which fall silent are later resurrected, and in recent years these have in...
Lost distilleries
from Issue 62 published on 01/03/2007
Just miniatures does exactly what it says on the tin - sells just miniatures.
Many distillers will tell you that small stills make the finest whisky, and what is it they say about the way mighty oaks from little acorns grow? I could go on, but I’m sure you can see where we’re heading in an article devoted to the retailing of whisky miniatures.
For brothers Justin and Gavin ...
Whisky Spotlight
from Issue 43 published on 23/10/2004
Can whisky-making be taught properly at university, and is our understanding of science leading to better whisky? Gavin Smith looks at the issue
If you walk into any pub on Speyside where retired distillery workers congregate and ask them whether things were better in their day, you’ll receive the resounding answer ‘yes!’ Partly, of course, this is human nature. Nobody wants to admit that someone who has succeeded them has found a better way...
Whisky Trends
from Issue 41 published on 16/7/2004
Ian Bankier’s dream is to give whisky lovers a national retail chain of their own. Gavin D Smith spoke to the former Burn Stewart boss
In February of this year Ian Bankier became the proud owner of the Whisky Shop, and the former Burn Stewart boss has ambitious plans for his retail chain.
Bankier was born in Glasgow and educated at Edinburgh University where he read law. He subsequently returned to his native city to practice, spe...
Whisky Profile
from Issue 40 published on 4/6/2004
Gavin D Smith provides an update on the Andrew Usher commemorations
In Issue 36 we reported on the second annual Andrew Usher Event, held at William Grant & Sons, hosted by Peter Gordon, great-great-grandson of company founder William Grant.
The occasion was designed to celebrate blended Scotch whisky, and in particular one of the key pioneers of blending, Andrew U...
Whisky Events
from Issue 39 published on 1/5/2004
Luvian’s Bottle Shop has built a reputation for fine drinks products. Gavin Smith looks at its whisky offering
The historic university town of St Andrews in north-east Fife is renowned the world over as the home of golf. Recently, however, it has also been attracting attention because one of its current undergraduates is Prince William.
The chances are that if His Royal Highness requires a drop of Château M...
Whisky Spotlight
from Issue 39 published on 1/5/2004
As promised in Issue 36, we asked some experts to cross the usual genre boundaries to see if any combinations worked, what might work and what was best left in its
component bottles. Gavin Smith reports
The panel
David Robertson Co-founder of the Easy Drinking Whisky Company
Billy Walker Distillery owner
Gavin Smith Whisky writer and author
Richard Paterson Master blender, Whyte and Mackay
David Stewart Master blender, William Grant & Sons
It’s one of those ideas that just happens and which g...
Whisky Trends
from Issue 39 published on 1/5/2004
It was only amatter of time before Monarch of the Glen discovered whisky. Gavin Smith reports.
The scene: A Highland distillery close to the River Spey. The action: The distillery owner walks down the steps from the boardroom at the conclusion of a meeting, followed by a number of tweedy men.
So far, so traditional. But the owner is a beautiful young blonde dressed in a stylish cream trouse...
Whisky Profile
from Issue 36 published on 28/12/2003
Why don't whiskies from different nations ever get belnded togeterh? Or do they? Gavin Smith found out
It was one of those questions that hardly seemed worth answering. “If they blend different Scotch whiskies together, why don’t they ever put Irish or bourbon in as well?”
“Well, it wouldn’t work, of course”, I replied. “I mean it just wouldn’t be possible, it’s probably not legal, and then there’...
Whisky Trends
from Issue 36 published on 28/12/2003
Gavin D Smith looks at how Diageo’s forerunners flirted with the idea of launching a ‘boutique’ distillery based on an illegal operation – and how it ended up on the shelf
Today we take distillery visitor centres for granted. They have become part of Scotland’s tourist infrastructure, with ‘whisky tourism’ estimated to generate around £17m per year, and more than 40 distilleries opening their doors – and their cash tills – to visitors.
Recently it has even been anno...
Whisky History
from Issue 34 published on 5/10/2003
Gavin D. Smith looks at the event that inspired the world-famous whisky novel by Compton Mackenzie
Whisky Galore! The expression is familiar the world over, and conjures up images of cunning Hebrideans ‘liberating’ whisky from a wrecked ship, and subsequently hiding bottles in a variety of ingenious places, including babies’ cots, lobster creels, haystacks, peat bogs and even
rabbit warrens aroun...
Whisky Escapades
from Issue 33 published on 25/9/2003
Gavin D. Smith looks at the work of the Scotch Whisky Association, fighting the corner for the water of life
We’re all familiar with newspaper statements attributed to the Scotch Whisky Association regarding the disproportionate level of duty imposed on Scotch by the British government. However, while taxation is a key issue for the SWA, the industry’s trade association is about much more besides.
Founded...
Great whisky clubs
from Issue 31 published on 9/6/2003
Gavin D. Smith tells the story of Highland distillery Glendronach, which has a happy ending after all
In May 2001, Paul Porter-Smith, managing director of Allied Distillers Ltd, re-opened Glendronach Distillery by ceremonially driving home the bung in the first cask of new spirit to be distilled on the premises after six years of silence.
The re-commissioning of the Highland distillery at Forgue, n...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 31 published on 9/6/2003
Gavin D. Smith takes a look at the by-products of whisky-making, and where they end up
As whisky consumers, we give a great deal of thought to what goes into our drink, but very little thought to what does not. Yet were it not for effective management of the by-products of distilling, the Scotch whisky industry as we know it today could not survive.
Distillers tend to wear their envi...
Whisky and the environment
from Issue 29 published on 24/3/2003
William Delmé-Evans designed no less than three distilleries. Gavin D. Smith talked to him
William Delmé-Evans has been described as a latter-day Charles Doig, yet while the important role played in the development of the whisky industry by that Elgin-based 19th century architect has finally been acknowledged, William Delmé-Evans remains a lesser-known figure.
During the two decades foll...
Architecture
from Issue 28 published on 16/1/2003
Gavin. D. Smith examines the legacy of the philanthropic Andrew Usher and sons, blending pineers
On 23rd August of this year, 22 of Scotland’s leading whisky blenders assembled at Kyndal’s Glasgow headquarters, each bearing a sample of specially blended 16-year-old whisky. The samples were duly vatted together and just one bottle of the resultant ‘superblend’ produced.
This collector’s item is...
Whisky Production
from Issue 27 published on 16/11/2002
Gavin Smith coaxes this hermit crab distillery out of its shell
Unlike some Speyside distilleries, Cragganmore has to be searched for. It is certainly worth the search, however, as it remains essentially a classic, whitewashed, ‘courtyard’ construction, occupying an idyllic location in a hollow at the end of a minor road which curves Spey-wards from the main A95...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 25 published on 16/8/2002
Does older always mean better with whisky? Gavin Smith looks at the facts
There is an influential school of whisky thought that considers older necessarily equals better. Older also usually equals more expensive, and paying a high price for whisky reflects the status of the consumer in many important markets.
Today, there is an increasing trend for mainstream Scotch singl...
Whisky Production
from Issue 22 published on 16/5/2002
Gavin Smith takes a stroll by Kilchorman, the first new distillery of the millennium-and the first on Islay since 1883
The timetable is tight, but if all goes to plan, visitors to the Islay Whisky Festival in May 2002 will be able to witness spirit flowing at Scotland’s first new distillery of the 21st century.
Kilchoman Distillery, as it is to be known, is situated on the western coast of the Hebridean island, clo...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 21 published on 16/2/2002
Gavin Smith tells the complex story of Scottish brewing and its inextricable links with distilling
Whisky may be Scotland’s national drink, yet brewing beer predates the documented origins of Scottish distilling by many centuries, and has arguably played a greater part in the economic and social life of the nation. In 1840 Scotland boasted some 280 breweries, with around 30 in Edinburgh alone, th...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 21 published on 16/2/2002
Gavin Smith traces the reportedly romantic but often mercenary history of illicit distilling in Speyside
A great deal of romance has grown up around the figure of the noble Highlander, distilling without benefit of a licence in order to feed and clothe his family, opposed by the brutal forces of the excise officers, or ‘gaugers’. Stories of the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the whisky-makers are leg...
Whisky Production
from Issue 19 published on 16/11/2001
Gavin Smith recounts the early days of blending, when a court case in north London helped secure the future of the Scotch whisky industry
By an historic quirk of fate, the present day Scotch whisky industry does not owe its existence to happenings in some remote Highland glen, nor even in the boardrooms of Edinburgh, but rather to a series of events that began in 1905 with legal proceedings in the London Borough of Islington.
The ‘W...
Whisky Production
from Issue 17 published on 16/7/2001
Whisky's longevity can be credited to the efforts of many hard working people. Gavein D Smith lists nine successful women who are currently working hard to secure whisky's future.
BRIDGET ARTHUR is joint-Manager of Vintage Hallmark of St James’s, London’s latest shop dedicated to the sale of quality spirits. It opened last autumn on a site on the corner of Jermyn Street and St James’s Street and offers around 600 different malt whiskies. Bridget previously worked at Milroy’s ...
Whisky and Women
from Issue 14 published on 16/2/2001
Gavin D Smith tells the story of Old Pulteney, a beautiful whisky from a 'ginm, windswpt fishing town.'
Some single malts feature illustrations of the distilleries from which they originate on their bottle labels and sleeve packaging, but Old Pulteney prefers a picture of a herring drifter. Pulteney’s owners, Inver House Distillers, have also chosen to use on their 12-year-old single malt bottling a q...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 14 published on 16/2/2001
It's one of the easier whisky trivia questions. Which three Scottish distilleries are allowed to append the word 'royal' to their titles, asks Gavin Smith.
The answer is Royal Brackla, Royal Lochnagar and Glenury Royal, and, sadly, there are no liquid prizes for being correct. All three distilleries date from the first two decades of the 19th century but they have experienced decidedly mixed fortunes since those halcyon days.
Brackla is located some s...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 12 published on 16/11/2000
Coopering is an essential part of the maturation process. Gavin D Smith hails an irreplaceable art.
It was the diminutive Scottish comedian Ronnie Corbett who once said, “The common belief that whisky improves with age is true. The older I get, the more I like it”.
The process of personal maturation must, however, be matched by maturation of the whisky itself if the drink is to be worth getting o...
Whisky Production
from Issue 11 published on 16/9/2000
Visitors ot the new Dewar's World of Whisky centre will be dazzled by the arry but thank heavens real distilling gets a look in.
The Scotch whisky industry has come a long way since the day in 1969 when Glenfiddich opened the country’s first purpose-built distillery visitor centre, while their competitors looked on with a blend of curiosity and amusement.
However, with the opening last month of the innovative £2 million Dewa...
Whisky Travel
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Gavin D Smith reveals the contribution grain has made to the Scotch whisky industry.
Without grain whisky Scotch would be nothing more than a cottage industry, yet the spirit has traditionally received a less than enthusiastic press. Indeed, it would probably be fairer to say that it has received very little press at all. Grain whisky is widely perceived as nothing more than neutral...
Grain whisky
from Issue 10 published on 16/6/2000
Gavin Smith retraces the resurrection of Scotland's most southerly distillery, and discovers why it is being directed by an Irishman.
It’s a sad fact that de-commisioned distilleries, like old fighters, seldom make comebacks, and the last two decades of the 20th century were not kind to Scotland’s whisky-making facilities. Overall output was reduced, ‘rationalisation’ took place, and plants were mothballed, converted, or even demo...
Distillery Focus
from Issue 9 published on 16/4/2000
