Glenlossie Distillery, Elgin: The Quiet Twin

Overview

Glenlossie is a quiet Speyside distillery in the farmland south of Elgin, founded in 1876 by John Duff. It shares its site with the younger Mannochmore, and the two are run together. It has six stills but no visitor centre, and almost all its malt goes into blends. It is quietly respected among blenders, and an official 10 Year Old single malt has been available since 1990.

Where it is

The distillery is about 3 miles south of Elgin, near the hamlet of Thomshill, on the road towards Rothes. Elgin is the main town of Moray, and Inverness is about 40 miles west, around 1 hour by the A96.

The full history

1876: John Duff

John Duff founded Glenlossie in 1876 beside the Bardon Burn, which flows into the River Lossie. It was built at the start of the great Victorian whisky boom, when Elgin’s distilleries multiplied.

DCL, fire and wartime

The Distillers Company bought Glenlossie in 1919. In 1929 it was destroyed by fire but quickly rebuilt. Like most distilleries, it closed during both world wars. In 1962 it expanded from four to six stills. Its neighbour, Mannochmore, was later built on the same site, and the two now share staff and services.

Diageo

Through DCL and its successors, Glenlossie passed to Diageo in 1997. The 10 Year Old in the Flora & Fauna series appeared in 1990. Most of the spirit still goes into Diageo’s blends.

How it’s made

Glenlossie has three wash stills (15,600 litres) and three spirit stills (13,500 litres), with a capacity of about 1.1 million litres a year. Water comes from the Bardon Burn. The spirit is grassy and fruity, prized by blenders.

Clans, bishops & the Wolf

• Elgin Cathedral, the “Lantern of the North”, was burned in 1390 by Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, son of King Robert II, after a quarrel with the bishop. Its ruins are among the finest in Scotland. See Clan Stewart.
• Spynie Palace, north of Elgin, was the fortified home of the Bishops of Moray.
• The Inneses held lands east of Elgin, and the Gordons held much of the country around. See Clan Gordon.
• Duffus Castle, north-west of Elgin, is one of the best motte-and-bailey castles in Scotland.

Abbeys, stones & lochs

• Pluscarden Abbey, about 5 miles west, was founded in 1230. Benedictine monks returned in 1948, and it is the only medieval monastery in Britain still used by monks.
• Sueno’s Stone, Forres, about 12 miles west: a 6.5-metre Pictish cross-slab carved with battle scenes. See our standing stones guide.
• Burghead, on the coast, was a great Pictish fort, famous for its carved bull stones.
• Loch Spynie and Loch na Bo are the nearest lochs. See our lochs guide.

Elgin: the whisky town of Moray

Elgin is the natural base for this part of Speyside. On South Street, Gordon & MacPhail, founded in 1895 as a grocer and wine merchant, became one of the world’s most respected independent whisky bottlers. Its shop holds a huge range of malts, including rare old Glenlossie, and the firm now owns the Benromach distillery in Forres. Johnstons of Elgin, the cashmere and woollen mill founded in 1797, still weaves beside the River Lossie and has a shop and café. Elgin Museum, opened in 1843 and one of the oldest independent museums in Scotland, has fine Pictish carved stones and fossils. The town’s medieval street plan survives, with the High Street running from the castle hill to the cathedral.

Visiting

Glenlossie is production only, with no visitor centre or tours. For a distillery visit nearby, Glen Moray in Elgin has tours.

Nearby distilleries

• Mannochmore, on the same site.
• Glen Elgin, Longmorn and BenRiach (2–3 miles).
• Linkwood and Glen Moray, Elgin (about 3 miles).
• Miltonduff (about 4 miles).

The Speyside Whisky Trail and the whisky hub cover the region.

Sources

• Glenlossie distillery — Wikipedia.
• Diageo / Malts.com.
• Historic Environment Scotland (Elgin Cathedral, Sueno’s Stone).