Balmenach distillery

Balmenach distillery stands beside the River Spey in the Cromdale district of the Highlands. It sits below Tom Lethendry hill, where the Jacobites were defeated in 1690. The site has been a whisky producer since 1824, when James McGregor founded it. In 1897 it became part of the Glenlivet group. The distillery once had its own railway branch off the Strathspey line until 1969. After closing in 1941, it reopened in 1947 with expanded facilities. The distillery is best known today as the birthplace of Caorunn gin, launched in 2009. Inver House Distillers, which owns Balmenach, commissioned distiller Simon Buley to create the gin on site. The first batch used rowan berries, Coul Blush apples and bog myrtle gathered around the distillery. A 1920s copper berry chamber, originally used for perfume, is now part of the gin’s production. The bottle’s five-pointed base and asterisk logo reflect the five Scottish botanicals. Visitors find whisky stills and the copper berry chamber used for Caorunn gin. The distillery’s buildings date from different periods, including the 19th-century core and later expansions. The surrounding Speyside landscape provides the rowan, apple and myrtle used in the gin. The site’s railway history is recalled by remnants of the old branch line. The distillery remains a working producer of both single malt whisky and gin.