Glenury distillery

Glenury distillery, also called Glenury Royal, once stood in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. Founded in 1825 by Robert Barclay, it took its name from the glen that runs through the Ury district. The site produced Highland single malt Scotch whisky for more than a century and a half. Between 1825 and 1985 it changed hands several times under different owners. After closing in 1985, parts of the complex were turned into private apartments. The distillery’s history includes accidents and setbacks that marked its early years. A fire soon after opening destroyed barley stocks, the kiln and parts of the malting floor. Two weeks later, worker James Clark died in a boiler accident. Robert Barclay died in 1854 and the distillery was auctioned three years later. In 1968 the maltings closed, but whisky production continued until 1985. Today the only visible remnant is the base of the distillery’s chimney. Diageo later released limited-edition whiskies from the site. In 2003 a fifty-year-old official bottling appeared, with only 498 bottles produced. A thirty-six-year-old bottling followed in 2005, with 2,100 bottles in the batch.