Huntley whisky distillery

Located near the town of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the Huntly Distillery once sat on the east bank of the River Bogie, opposite the medieval castle and town centre. (scotchwhisky.com) The site is today referred to as “Pirries Mill” (also spelled Peiries Mill / Perries Mill) and the original distillery buildings have been demolished. (scotchwhisky.com)

Founded in 1824 by the Huntly Distillery Company, the distillery was restarted in 1832 by John Robertson & Co. after a period of silence. (scotchwhisky.com) It apparently operated until around 1860 or later and by 1867 was recorded as “not operating”. (scotchwhisky.com) Today it is classed as a demolished/distillery closed long ago, and no modern bottlings under its name are in regular production.

House Style

No widely available single-malt under the Huntly name exists. Based on its era and location (Speyside region) the spirit would likely have been a typical lightly-peated or un-peated malt, though precise records are lacking.

Production

• Milling & Mashing: According to period practice for early 19th-century distilleries in Scotland, barley would have been malted on-site or locally, mashed and then transferred to washbacks.
• Fermentation: Washbacks (likely wooden) would have held the wort for fermentation into wash.
• Stills: As a small 19th-century malt-distilling site, it would have used copper pot stills, though there are no detailed records.
• Cuts & character: Being a smaller early distillery, cut points would have been relatively wide compared to modern craft, so the spirit might have been less refined than today’s vintage malts.

Visitor Centre

None: the original distillery has been demolished and the site no longer functions as a working distillery or visitor attraction.

Huntley factsheet