Glen Garioch Distillery, Oldmeldrum: One of Scotland’s Oldest

Overview

Glen Garioch (pronounced glen GEE-rie), at Oldmeldrum in the fertile Garioch valley of Aberdeenshire, is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. It makes a robust, full-flavoured eastern-Highland malt, and its long history in this rich barley-growing country gives it real depth.

The history

Glen Garioch was founded in 1797 by brothers John and Alexander Manson, in a district long known as the “granary of Aberdeenshire” for its excellent barley. It worked for well over two centuries, at times heavily peated, and was for a while a pioneer of using its waste heat to grow tomatoes in glasshouses. It is now owned by Beam Suntory and has revived some of its older, more traditional practices.

The water & the land

Glen Garioch’s water is the “Silent Spring” of Coutens Farm, a soft-water spring on a neighbouring farm in the Garioch valley.

The distillery was a commercial venture with no founding clan. But the Garioch was the historic heartland of Clan Leslie, whose stronghold of Balquhain stood west of Inverurie, and the surrounding country is dotted with the recumbent stone circles and Pictish carvings of a district settled since deep antiquity — a fittingly ancient home for one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries.

Visiting

Glen Garioch has a year-round visitor centre and runs Founder’s and Warehouse tours, some by appointment — book ahead. It generally opens Monday to Saturday with tours around 10:30 and 1, plus Sundays from June to September; check the website.

Nearby & more whisky

• Another Aberdeenshire distillery: GlenDronach
• Glen Garioch among the oldest working distilleries
• The whole picture: Scotch whisky — regions, distilleries & the oldest of all

Sources

• Glen Garioch distillery — Wikipedia.
• Glen Garioch / Beam Suntory.