Aberlour distillery

Aberlour derives its name from the pretty Speyside village of Aberlour, or Charlestown of Aberlour, as it is more formally but far less commonly known.

The current Aberlour distillery was originally founded in 1879, and was the second distillery of this name. An earlier distillery was founded approximately a mile away in the grounds of Aberlour House in 1825. The earlier distillery founded by the Laird James Gordon, who is perhaps more famous for gifting two pistols to George Smith of Glenlivet, and a man named Peter Weir who withdrew within a year. By 1833 they had gone Bankrupt and the distillery was taken over by James and John Grant who in partnership with two brothers named Walker. By the end of their lease in 1840 the Grants had founded Glen Grant distillery, shortly after the walker brothers took over operations of Linkwood distillery. The original distillery was destroyed by fire in 1879 and never rebuilt.

The new distillery was founded between 1879 and 1880 by the local businessman and philanthropist James Fleming and was one of the stopping points on Alfred Barnard’s distilleries tour. Already a thoroughly modern site the distillery was subsequently sold to Robert Thorne and Sons Limited in 1892, and expanded. Alas this expanded distillery was gutted by fire a short seven years later. The current site was build by Charles Doig, who among other improvements fitted the iconic Doig ventilator ‘pagoda’. The distillery was acquired by W.H. Holt and Sons Ltd in 1921 and ran for some 20 years. In 1945 it was bought by S. Campbell and Son. In 1962 Aberlour Distillery ceased to operate its own floor maltings, and in 1973 the number of stills was increased from two to four. A year Later it was sold to Pernod Recard in 1974. The distillery is now managed via Chivas Brothers Ltd.

Aberlour factsheet