GLEN ORD DISTILLERY 12yo

Glen Ord is situated on the edge of the Black Isle in the Highlands west of Inverness. The distillery’s water source is Loch nan Eun and Loch nam Bonnach and was founded in 1838 by Partners Robert Johnstone and Donald MacLennan. Under the name of Ord Distillery Company, R. Johnstone declared bankrupt in 1847

The distillery had produced whisky illegally for a few years before they received their licence.

Ownership passed to Alexander McLennan & Thomas McGregor in 1855 then to Alexander McKenzie under a 19-year lease in 1877 he constructed new buildings, which unfortunately were burnt down shortly afterwards.

In 1896 the blends company James Watson & Co purchased Glen Ord. They operated the distillery until 1923 when it was acquired by John Dewar & Sons. Up until then the whisky had been sold under the name ‘Glen Oran’, but was renamed ‘Glen Ord’.

In 1930 Scottish Malt Distillers purchased the distillery and invested heavily into the distillery over the following years. By 1966 the distillery had been completely re-built and re-equipped. The floor maltings had been converted to a Saladin Box system, and the number of stills was increased from two to six.

During 1968 the malting improvements continued with a new drum maltings system. This facility is still in use today and supplies many of the current owners, Diageo, distilleries with malt. In 1985 the distillery is acquired by United Malt & Grain Distillers (United Distillers), which eventually becomes Diageo.

A Distillery of many names, besides Glen Ord the whisky produced has also been called Glen Oran, Ord, Muir of Ord and Glenordie. Glen Ord has won several awards for their whisky, for example in 1994, 1995 and 1998. The 1998 award was the gold medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for the best single malt aged less than 15 years.