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The Distillery |
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label depicts the Glendarroch Distillery sited on the Crinan Canal that
links Loch Fyne with the Sound of Jura. Also known as Glenfyne, the distillery
was built in 1831. A succession of owners held the distillery until 1919
when it came under the ownership of the Glenfyne Distillery Co. The cameo by Gail
Gordon depicts the distillery at the time of Alfred Barnard’s visit
in 1885. Barnard’s detailed description of the buildings enabled
us to recreate the floor plan and Gail was able to complete her task
from this combined with etchings in his book. Barnard was clearly
taken by the setting, the distillery and hospitality afforded him. His
book devotes six pages to his visit, much taken up with details of the
buildings e.g. “a new kiln, one of the finest we have seen in Scotland,
it is 51 feet square” but also with the location: “It is built
at the foot of the Robber’s Glen which runs upwards from the banks
of the canal into the heart of the hills in the background; this glen
was once the haunt of smugglers, and no more romantic spot could have
been chosen for the distillery.” Glendarroch was
complete and well laid out. Barley was unloaded from the canal direct
to the malt barns then moved through the process clockwise around a
courtyard to the kiln, tun room, still house and warehouses. Whisky
was then shipped to market via the canal. Eight houses were available
for the workers and two for the excisemen. There was also Glengilp House
and Glendarroch House for the manager and the owner respectively. At
the end of his day’s visit Barnard’s party “donned our
‘war paint’ and proceeded to Glendarroch House to enjoy the
hospitality of the owner”. The distillery closed
in 1937, unusually as there was a distilling boom at that time, although
the warehouses continued to be used for storing whisky until the mid
seventies. A brief life as a joinery followed until the eighties when
a salmon hatchery made use of the buildings and water which was also
the drinking water supply for Lochgilphead. In 1990 the Regional
Council acquired the water rights and every last trace of the distillery
has since been removed. Additional Information
If you are familiar with our terms of sale (here) you can
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