Glen Ord Distillery

Situated just off the A832 on the northwestern fringe of Muir of Ord, Glen Ord Distillery offers visitors a warm welcome to one of the Highlands’ most visitor-friendly whisky destinations. While the neighbouring Glen Ord Maltings presents an industrial first impression, the beautifully tended gardens surrounding the distillery quickly set a more inviting tone, signalling that this is a place where considerable care has been taken to create an exceptional visitor experience.

The Visitor Centre

The visitor centre itself occupies the southern portion of the historic stone warehouses that overlook the car park. Walking around to the entrance, you’re treated to a striking view of the large stillhouse positioned at an angle at the far end of the site, its enormous windows offering tantalising glimpses of the copper stills within. Across the road, a wooded embankment bursts with wildflowers in season.

Glen Ord boasts one of Scotland’s finest distillery visitor centres in terms of both design and layout. Guests can choose to explore just the exhibition or combine it with a full distillery tour. While we’d recommend doing both if time allows, the visitor centre alone is worth the trip. Inside you’ll find a well-stocked shop, a spacious tasting room with views into the bonded warehouse, and an impressive exhibition covering topics such as cooperage and how different cask types influence the whisky’s character, complemented by audio-visual presentations.

The Distillery Tour

The distillery tour provides access to most key stages of whisky production. Glen Ord retains two pagodas, those distinctive architectural features that once topped the kilns used for drying malted barley. Although most distilleries now source their malt from commercial maltings (leaving many pagodas redundant), Glen Ord’s malted barley conveniently comes from the maltings next door, which also supplies several other distilleries in the region.

The production equipment has seen recent upgrades. During one visit, the mash tun had just been replaced - a job requiring partial roof removal - and it gleamed with a silky steel finish. Some of the eight Oregon pine washbacks had also been renewed. Like icebergs, most of a washback sits below floor level, and at Glen Ord their impressive depth can be glimpsed through the mesh flooring.

The Stillhouse

The heart of any distillery lies in its stillhouse, and Glen Ord’s is particularly impressive. Those large south-facing windows not only allow visitors to admire the stills from outside but flood the interior with natural light. Behind the glass stands a row of six stills, the wash stills and spirit stills appearing remarkably similar in size and shape. The lyne arms carrying the distilled spirit pass high overhead along the main walkway to the vertically arranged condensers at the rear.

A Rich History

When whisky historian Alfred Barnard visited in the mid-1880s while researching his seminal work on distilleries, the establishment was simply known as Ord Distillery. His account in The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom runs to an unusually lengthy three pages, suggesting he thoroughly enjoyed his stay, perhaps influenced by the 1882 spirit he found “very agreeable to the palate.” While Barnard might struggle to recognise today’s modernised facility, he would undoubtedly still appreciate the whisky.

The distillery owes its existence to the MacKenzies of Ord. Thomas MacKenzie inherited the estate in 1820 when the area, then called Mill of Ord, was known for illicit whisky production. The MacKenzie family had held lands here since King Alexander III granted them estates in 1263. Thomas saw a legal distillery as a way to add value to barley grown on his farms. Ord Distillery Company opened in 1838, and a piggery was established nearby to utilise production by-products. Initially, the distillery operated with two coal-fired stills and relied on water wheels for power, with mashing water drawn from a well.

By Barnard’s visit, Ord whisky was reaching markets as distant as Singapore and South Africa. In 1896, the distillery sold for £15,800 to Dundee-based blenders James Watson & Son. Like many Scottish distilleries, Glen Ord closed during the First World War. The 1920s saw it pass to Thomas Dewars & Sons before it eventually joined Scottish Malt Distillers. Another closure came during the Second World War.

The post-war era brought significant development. Electricity arrived in 1949. During the late 1960s, the two original coal-fired stills gave way to six steam-heated stills, and the on-site floor maltings closed when Glen Ord Maltings opened nearby. The distillery became part of Guinness in 1985, which later merged into Diageo in 1997. The visitor centre welcomed its first guests in 1994.

Key Information

• Glen Ord Distillery is located on the A832, on the northwestern edge of Muir of Ord in the Scottish Highlands.
• The distillery offers both visitor centre tours and full distillery tours.
• The visitor centre includes a shop, tasting room, and exhibition.
• Glen Ord is owned by Diageo and has been producing whisky since 1838.
• The stillhouse features six stills visible through large south-facing windows.

Conclusion

Glen Ord Distillery is well worth a visit for anyone exploring the Scottish Highlands. With its excellent visitor centre, fascinating production process, and rich history stretching back to 1838, it offers one of the most rewarding distillery experiences in Scotland. Whether you’re a whisky enthusiast or simply curious about the craft, Glen Ord provides an engaging and informative day out.