The Glenrothes distillery

Last updated
Glenrothes distillery
Region: Speyside
Location Rothes
Owner Edrington
Founded1879
StatusOperational
Water sourceSpring on site
No. of stills5 wash stills
5 spirit stills
Capacity5,200,000 L
The Glenrothes
Age(s)The 15, The 18, The 25
Age(s)The 32, The 42, The 51

The Glenrothesdistillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the town of Rothes in the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery sits beside the Burn of Rothes, in a glen on the edge of the town.

Contents

The Glenrothes does not have a visitor centre or run any public tours or tastings, with visits limited to private invitation only.

History

The distillery was built in 1878 by James Stuart & Co, who then also worked the nearby Macallan distillery. The first whisky ran off the stills on the 28 December 1879, the same day as the Tay Bridge disaster. [1]

The distillery itself had a shaky start and turbulent history. Over-proof whisky is notoriously highly flammable and the distillery has paid the price. Extension work began in 1896 on a second malt kiln, and an increase in stills from two to four but, before the work was finished, a fire in December 1897 caused serious damage. The distillery saw further damage with a serious explosion in 1903.

Then, in 1922, a fire in Warehouse Number One caused the loss of 200,000 imperial gallons (910,000 L) of whisky. Another fire in 1962 afforded the opportunity for expansion and a further re-build in 1982 extended the still hall to five wash stills and five spirit stills. [2]

References

  1. Grainmash.com (2008). "The Glenrothes Distillery". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23.
  2. Glasgow University (2008). "Records of Highland Distilleries". Archived from the original on 2011-08-13.

57°31′36.3″N3°12′59.7″W / 57.526750°N 3.216583°W / 57.526750; -3.216583