Glen Mhor

When it can be found, Glen Mhor is a punchy, meaty malt.

Clearly in 1892 when John Birnie, the manager of Glen Albyn (which sat opposite) entered into a business partnership with Leith blender Charles Mackinlay, he was thinking commercially. The new distillery was designed by the leading architect of the era, Charles Doig, and located between the Caledonian Canal and the railway giving it superb communication links. In 1920, Mackinlay & Birnie bought Glen Albyn. Unusually, the distillery remained water-powered until the 1950s and had Saladin maltings installed in 1954. In 1972, it became a late addition to the DCL portfolio, although it would only remain with the industry giant until 1983 when it was another of Scotland’s smaller stills to close. Three years later it was demolished. Seen from a modern perspective in which the importance of whisky tourism is a major consideration, the fact that the capital of the Highlands doesn’t have a single distillery might seem strange.  It’s easy to forget how vey different the business was only a few decades ago.