Glen Spey Distillery: History, Owner, Range and Visitor Guide
Updated: 2 days ago
Glen Spey is a Diageo distillery in Rothes, Moray, built in 1878 as the Mill of Rothes. Almost all of its spirit goes into blends, above all J&B, and it is one of the few Scotch distilleries that still use purifiers on its stills. This profile covers its history, owners, production and visitor status.
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Glen Spey at a glance
Distillery fact | Verified detail |
|---|---|
Location | Rothes, Speyside |
Region | Speyside, Scotland |
Founded / established | 1878 |
Owner | Diageo |
Bottles documented | 1 named expressions in Whisky Clan's bottle database |
Visiting | See visitor information in the original research below. Check official opening and booking details before travelling. |
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Glen Spey history, people and production
Where is Glen Spey distillery?
Glen Spey is in Rothes, Moray, at the centre of the Speyside whisky area. Rothes holds several distilleries within a short walk of one another. The distillery address is Glen Spey Distillery, Rothes, Moray, AB38 7AT.
Glen Spey history
James Stuart, a local grain merchant, built the distillery in 1878 by adding stills to an existing oatmeal mill. Scotchwhisky.com says he was also the licensee of Macallan at the time. The distillery was sold to the London firm W and A Gilbey and became its first venture into Scotch.
1878: James Stuart builds the distillery, known as the Mill of Rothes.
1887: Gilbey buys it and it is renamed Glen Spey. The Single Cask dates the rename to 1885 and the Gilbey sale to 1887, for 11,000 pounds.
1920: damaged by fire and substantially rebuilt, according to The Single Cask.
1962: Gilbey merges with United Wine Traders to form International Distillers and Vintners.
1970: expanded from two stills to four.
1972: International Distillers and Vintners is bought by Watney Mann and then Grand Metropolitan.
1997: Guinness and Grand Metropolitan merge to form Diageo.
2001: bottled as a single malt in the Flora and Fauna range.
2010: a 21 year old is released as part of the Diageo Special Releases.
Scotchwhisky.com notes that the distillery became the home of the Spey Royal blend, and that it already supplied the J&B blend when Gilbey's business merged with the parent company of Justerini and Brooks.
How Glen Spey makes its whisky
Glen Spey is one of a small group of distilleries that fit purifiers to their stills. Wikipedia names Glenlossie and Strathmill as the others. A purifier acts as a small condenser that returns part of the vapour to the still to be distilled again, which increases reflux.
Scotchwhisky.com lists four ball shaped stills, a lauter mash tun, eight steel washbacks, a filling strength of 63.5% and new make strength of 71 to 72%. The Single Cask describes the washbacks as wooden and gives a longer fermentation of roughly 55 to 75 hours. Scotchwhisky.com gives a minimum of 46 hours.
Who owns Glen Spey?
Diageo has owned Glen Spey since 1997. Before that it passed from James Stuart and Co to W and A Gilbey (1887), International Distillers and Vintners (1962) and Grand Metropolitan (1972).
Glen Spey range
Glen Spey is rarely bottled by its owner. Scotchwhisky.com says it is very rarely seen as a single malt outside the Flora and Fauna range. The Flora and Fauna bottling is a 12 Year Old. The sources used do not give an ABV, so check Diageo Malts.
Visiting Glen Spey
Glen Spey is a working site and is not open to the public, according to Scotchwhisky.com and The Single Cask.
Where the sources differ
The rename to Glen Spey is dated 1885 by The Single Cask and 1887 by Scotchwhisky.com and Wikipedia. Washback material and fermentation length differ between The Single Cask and Scotchwhisky.com. Capacity is about 1.4 million litres in The Single Cask and 1.6 million litres in a ScotchWhisky.net listing seen in search results. Diageo's own page did not load for this profile.
Glen Spey whisky bottle range and cask comparison
Here are named expressions documented from producer or specialist sources, including the available age and ABV. A missing strength is deliberately left as 'Check bottle' rather than estimated.
Whisky Clan records these documented expressions for comparison. A historic or special edition is not necessarily available to purchase today.
Bottle or expression | Age or release | ABV | Producer information |
|---|---|---|---|
Glen Spey 12 Year Old Flora & Fauna | 12 years | 43% | Official distillery malt |
Regular and rare releases are distinguished in the Whisky Bottles database; a historical catalogue listing does not prove current availability.
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More distilleries in Speyside Scotland
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Frequently asked questions about Glen Spey
Where is Glen Spey distillery?
In Rothes, Moray.
Who owns Glen Spey?
Diageo.
Who built Glen Spey?
James Stuart, in 1878, as the Mill of Rothes.
Which blend uses Glen Spey?
J&B, according to Wikipedia and The Single Cask.
Can you visit Glen Spey?
No. It is not open to the public.
Sources and photographic credits
Cover image: Glen Spey Distillery, geograph.org.uk via Wikimedia Commons.
Featured photograph: original credited image from the Whisky Clan distillery media library. If you own this image and would like the attribution updated, please contact Whisky Clan.
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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