Glenglassaugh Distillery, Sandend: The Coastal Maritime Malt
Glenglassaugh at a glance
| Region | Highland/Speyside border (Sandend, Aberdeenshire) |
| Founded | 1875 — reopened 2008 |
| Owner | Brown-Forman |
| Visitor centre | No walk-ins — private appointment only |
| Tours | Private tours & tastings by arrangement only |
| Opening | Seasonal — check the website |
| Website | glenglassaugh.com |
Overview
Glenglassaugh, right on the coast at Sandend Bay near Portsoy, makes a distinctively maritime, coastal malt shaped by the sea air of the Moray Firth. Closed for decades and reopened in 2008, it is one of Scotch’s notable revival stories, sitting on the border country between the Highlands and Speyside.
The history
Glenglassaugh was founded in 1875, but had a stop-start life and was mothballed in 1986, seemingly for good. It was bought and reopened in 2008, and now belongs to Brown-Forman (alongside BenRiach and GlenDronach), who have restored its reputation.
The water & the land
Glenglassaugh draws on coastal springs near Sandend, and matures its whisky within sight and smell of the sea.
Glenglassaugh had no founding clan — it was a commercial coastal distillery on the Banffshire/Aberdeenshire shore, in historic Duff/Fife and Seafield country.
How it’s made
Glenglassaugh runs a single wash still and a single spirit still with a capacity of around one million litres a year, drawing on the Glassaugh spring. It was founded in 1875 by James Moir and his nephews Alexander and William Morrison, owned by Highland Distillers (Edrington) from 1892, mothballed in 1986 and reopened on 24 November 2008 by an independent investment group; BenRiach acquired it in 2013 and Brown-Forman has owned it since 2016. The current range — a 12-year-old matured in bourbon, sherry and red-wine casks, Sandend, a richly peated Portsoy and a 15-year-old finished in Pedro Ximénez and Spanish wine casks — leans hard on its sea-spray character. Note that Brown-Forman announced in January 2025 that production would pause intermittently as part of cost-cutting.
Visiting
Glenglassaugh no longer runs a walk-in visitor centre: visits are strictly by private appointment — curated tours, tastings and private dining arranged through the distillery’s own website and its experience team, with the occasional exclusive tasting event. Check the visit page before planning a trip. The setting above Sandend Bay is still one of the prettiest of any distillery, and the beach and coast path are open to everyone.
Nearby & more whisky
- Along the coast at Banff, about a dozen miles east: Macduff — production only.
- Round the Moray coast: Inchgower at Buckie, production only.
- Inland near Keith: Aultmore and Strathisla, the home of Chivas.
- Planning a day of it? Our Speyside Whisky Trail covers this as one of its spurs — the high glens, the smuggling country and the Moray coast.
- The whole picture: Scotch whisky — regions, distilleries & the oldest of all
Sources
- Glenglassaugh distillery — Wikipedia.
- Glenglassaugh / Brown-Forman.