Glen Garioch Distillery: History, Owner and Visitor Guide
Updated: 3 hours ago
Glen Garioch (pronounced Geery) is a Highland single malt distillery in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire. The distillery dates itself to 1797 and describes itself as one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland. It sits in the Garioch, a fertile farming valley long known as the Granary of Aberdeenshire, about 20 miles north west of Aberdeen. It is owned by Suntory and its output goes almost entirely to single malt.
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Glen Garioch at a glance
Distillery fact | Verified detail |
|---|---|
Distillery / brand | Glen Garioch |
Whisky region | Highland, Scotland |
Ownership (October 2026) | Suntory Global Spirits |
History | Official history dates the founding to 1797; founder accounts vary. |
Expressions to explore | Glen Garioch Founder's Reserve and Glen Garioch 12 Year Old |
Visiting / editorial note | Whiskypedia lists opening from 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, with Sunday from noon to 4.30pm in July to September. |
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Glen Garioch at a glance
Location: Distillery Road, Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, AB51 0ES
Region: Highland
Founded: 1797 (officially)
Owner: Morrison Bowmore Distillers, part of Suntory (Beam Suntory from 2014, now Suntory Global Spirits)
Stills: three, with one pair in regular use
Capacity: around 1 million litres of pure alcohol a year
Water: Coutens Spring, known locally as the Silent Spring
Core strength: 48% ABV
Visitor centre: yes, check opening times before travelling
The story of Glen Garioch
The official founding date is 1797, and the distillery says it has been making malt in Oldmeldrum ever since. Sources disagree on who started it. ScotchWhisky.com names Thomas Simpson, while The Single Cask notes that some accounts credit John and Alexander Manson. The Single Cask also mentions a documented reference to distilling on the same site as early as 1785, and Whiskypedia says there are unproven claims of even earlier legal production that would make it the oldest in Scotland.
The ownership trail runs through Ingram, Lamb and Co from 1827, then John Manson and Co from 1837, then the Leith blender Joseph F Thomson and Co from 1884. William Sanderson, the man behind the Vat 69 blend, became a partner in 1886 and took full control in 1908. Sanderson and Son merged with Booth's Distilleries in 1933, and Booth's was bought by the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1937.
Glen Garioch was closed in 1968. Whiskypedia says DCL chose to reopen Brora for heavily peated spirit instead and that Glen Garioch always struggled for water. Two years later the Glasgow broker Stanley P. Morrison bought it, and a local water diviner found a new source. Production restarted in 1973 and the stills were increased from two to three in 1978.
Morrison Bowmore was taken over by the Japanese group Suntory in 1994, and Glen Garioch was mothballed for two years from 1995. It reopened in 1997 as a single malt focused distillery. One Morrison era detail is that heat recovered from the stills was used to warm two acres of greenhouses where tomatoes were grown, the same idea Morrison used at Bowmore, where waste heat warmed the town swimming pool.
Peat, maltings and the change of style
Glen Garioch ran a heavily peated style through the 1970s, 1980s and into the early 1990s. The Single Cask reports that the maltster of the time had trained on Islay and brought that smoky habit north. When the distillery reopened in 1997 the peat was dropped and the spirit moved to the unpeated, fruitier style it is known for today. The distillery says small batches of smoky barley have been run again in recent years.
Sources differ on the maltings. Whiskypedia says the distillery was long self-sufficient in malt, that its maltings are now disused and that it lost its own maltings by 1997. The Single Cask says the floor maltings ran until 1979 and reopened in 2022, supplying around a quarter of the malt the distillery needs. Treat the 2022 reopening as a single source claim until the distillery confirms it.
How Glen Garioch is made
Mashing: a lauter mash tun, with a grist of roughly 4.4 tonnes per mash (Whiskypedia) or a five tonne tun (The Single Cask)
Fermentation: stainless steel washbacks, around 50 hours (Whiskypedia). Whiskypedia lists eight washbacks of 30,000 litres, while The Single Cask lists five of 27,500 litres
Distillation: three stills with one pair used. The Single Cask gives the wash stills as 20,000 and 10,000 litres and the spirit stills as 11,000 litres, with long lyne arms
New make: around 72.5% ABV
Water: Coutens Spring, which The Single Cask says was found in 1972 and named the Silent Spring
Whiskypedia describes short ferments and a cloudy wort giving the new spirit a waxy, cereal-led base. Those source details are listed here as production facts only.
The Glen Garioch range
The distillery's own website lists these expressions, with strengths as published:
Founder's Reserve, 48% ABV
12 Years Old, 48% ABV
Virgin Oak, 48% ABV, matured fully in virgin North American oak
15 Years Old Renaissance, 51.9% ABV
1998 Wine Cask Matured, 48% ABV
Vintage releases, all above 53% ABV: 1978 (57.8%), 1986 (54.6%), 1990 (54.6%), 1991 (54.7%), 1994 (53.9%), 1995 (55.3%), 1997 (56.7%) and 1999 (56.3%)
The range was refreshed in 2009 with the Founders Reserve, a 12 year old and 1978 and 1990 vintages, and Virgin Oak followed in 2013. The distillery states that its whisky is non chill-filtered.
Glen Garioch and independent bottlers
Gordon and MacPhail, Cadenhead's, Signatory Vintage, Adelphi, Douglas Laing and Hunter Laing have all released Glen Garioch. Older stock from the peated era draws collector attention when it appears. The Single Cask has bottled two casks, an 8 year old from 1335 and a 19 year old distilled in 1995, the year the distillery closed, and both are sold out.
Visiting Glen Garioch
Whiskypedia lists opening from 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, with Sunday from noon to 4.30pm in July to September. Hours and tour prices change, so check the distillery's Visit Us page before you go. The distillery's own site promotes an experience called Legends of the Garioch, a trip around Aberdeenshire's food and farming heritage.
Sources
Cover image: Wikimedia Commons.
Glen Garioch bottle range and expression comparison
Bottle / expression | Age | ABV | Documented producer expression |
|---|---|---|---|
Glen Garioch Founder's Reserve | Check label | Check label | Documented expression; batch and availability vary |
Glen Garioch 12 Year Old | Check label | Check label | Documented expression; batch and availability vary |
Glen Garioch Virgin Oak | Check label | Check label | Documented expression; batch and availability vary |
Glen Garioch Vintage 1999 | Check label | Check label | Documented expression; batch and availability vary |
Producer and release sources document these expressions. Historical bottles may be out of production or unavailable. Bottled sourced or blended whiskey is not always entirely distilled at this site.
Bottle releases and visitor arrangements change over time; see original research and official sources.
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Frequently asked questions about Glen Garioch
Where is Glen Garioch distillery?
In Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, in the Garioch valley. It is classed as a Highland distillery.
Who owns Glen Garioch?
Morrison Bowmore Distillers, part of Suntory, which took over Morrison Bowmore in 1994. The parent company has been Beam Suntory since 2014, and the distillery website now carries the Suntory Global Spirits name.
How do you pronounce Glen Garioch?
The distillery says it is pronounced Geery, from the Doric dialect still spoken in the area.
Is Glen Garioch peated?
Not in the core range today. The distillery ran heavily peated malt until 1995 and has been unpeated since reopening in 1997, with occasional small peated batches reported.
When was Glen Garioch founded?
1797 is the official date, although claims of earlier distilling on the site have been made.
Sources and latest checks
Whisky Clan has retained the original researched history and source notes above. The comparison table lists documented expressions, not guaranteed current stock. Please check the producer's current bottle labels for strength, cask details and availability.
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Whisky producer and release source: https://www.glengarioch.com/whiskies/core-range
About the author
 | Filip Janczak Storyteller, drinker and explorer of all things whisky. Read more about the person behind Whisky Clan and explore additional reviews and distillery guides. |
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