Killyloch whisky distillery

Killyloch was a short-lived Lowland malt distillery at the Moffat complex in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. It began production in 1965 under Inver House Distillers, a subsidiary of Publicker Industries, and was built to supply malt whisky for blends rather than to establish a major single malt brand. The distillery operated alongside Glen Flagler and Garnheath and was closed in the early 1970s, making it one of the shortest-lived named malt distilleries in Scotland.

Killyloch is notable for being one of the more obscure casualties of the post-war Scotch whisky expansion. It belonged to a generation of highly industrial distilleries created to feed the booming blends market of the 1960s, not to market themselves as romantic single malt brands. Its output was lightly peated and largely hidden inside blends, while the same stills also produced Islebrae, a more heavily peated malt. Because the distillery disappeared so quickly and saw almost no official bottlings, it has become a cult name among whisky historians and collectors.

The distillery formed part of the wider Moffat whisky complex, which also included the Garnheath grain distillery, Glen Flagler malt distillery, warehousing, bottling facilities and later the Moffat maltings. Killyloch itself is said to have taken its name from a cask-marking error involving Lilly Loch, the nearby water source. The distillery was demolished after closure, and today survives largely through archival references and the rare 36 year old official bottling released in 2003.

House Style

Killyloch’s house style is generally described as lightly peated, aromatic and smooth, made primarily for blending rather than for a stand-alone single malt range. Inver House later described the whisky as light on peat, heavy in aromas, with a complex yet soft character and a citrus-spicy finish. This makes Killyloch an interesting historical Lowland malt, since it does not fit neatly into the stereotype of the region as entirely light, grassy and unpeated.

Production of Killyloch whisky

• Location: Part of the Moffat complex at Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.
• Production start: 1965.
• Role: Built primarily to produce malt whisky for blends.
• Stills: The wider malt operation at Moffat is described in sources as having either four or six stills split between Glen Flagler and Killyloch.
• Style: Killyloch produced a lightly peated malt; the same stills also produced the more heavily peated Islebrae style.
• Maltings: The adjacent Moffat Wanderhaufen box maltings opened in 1968.
• Official bottlings: Extremely rare; the 2003 official 36 year old release is effectively the only official bottling.

Visitor Centre

There is no visitor centre. Killyloch was an industrial distillery within the Moffat complex rather than a visitor-focused site, and the distillery has long since been demolished.

Killyloch factsheet