The Glenlivet

The Glenlivet distillery stands in the valley of the River Livet, near Ballindalloch in Moray. It is the oldest legal distillery in the Highlands, founded in 1824 after the Excise Act allowed licences for spirit production. George Smith, a tenant farmer, became the first to hold such a licence and built the original distillery at Upper Drumin. The site moved down the hill to Minmore in 1859 after a fire destroyed the earlier buildings. Today the distillery belongs to Chivas Brothers, part of Pernod Ricard, and produces nearly six million proof litres each year. The distillery’s history explains why it matters. Smith needed pistols to protect his legal operation while others still worked illegally. By the 1870s other distillers had copied the Glenlivet name, so John Gordon Smith took legal steps to secure it. The brand later became the biggest-selling single malt in the United States and the second largest worldwide. In 2021 barley from Josie’s Well travelled to the International Space Station to test whisky-making in space. Visitors walk through the working distillery where water comes from Josie’s Well and malt arrives from Portgordon. Seven lantern-shaped stills shape the spirit, which matures in oak casks. The tour lets guests taste three expressions, from the light Founder’s Reserve to older single malts. The site sits beside the River Livet, surrounded by rolling Speyside hills.