Brora whisky distillery is a name that is enriched with huge significance in the history of Scotch whisky production.
The Highland distillery in Brora, Sutherland, was originally founded as Clynelish in 1819 by the Marquis of Stafford, later known as the Duke of Sutherland. It went through a series of transitions in its early years, with George Lawson leading Brora through five decades from 1846, until 1896 when the distillery was sold to James Ainslie and John Risk of Glasgow. This partnership saw a period of significant growth with expenditure of capacity and modernising renovations.
Ainslie was declared bankrupt in 1912, with John Risk and Distillers Co. Ltd taking the reins and remaining shares, that was until Risk was bought out by John Walker & Sons in 1925, only for DCL to take full control of the Brora distillery in 1930.
When demand for production grew a second distillery was built next door in 1968; the new one became Clynelish and the old one was renamed Brora in 1975. During this period, heavily peated whisky was produced from 1972 at the original site, culminating in some of the legendary bottles that we have seen over the years, such as the Brora 1972 22yo Rare Malts and the Brora 1972 40yo Crystal Decanter, that scored one of the highest ever seen scores on WhiskyFun with 98 points!
The Brora distillery was eventually mothballed in 1983, whilst production continued at the newer Clynelish site. DCL became United Distillers in 1986, after various mergers UD became a division of Diageo in 1998.
To the joy of the whisky world, it was announced in late 2017 that the Brora distillery would reopen again, and production officially restarted in 2021. A legend had risen from the ashes.
Brief Timeline of Brora Key Events: -
- 1819: Clynelish distillery founded by the Marquis of Stafford
- 1846: Managed by George Lawson
- 1896: Sold to James Ainslie and John Risk
- 1912: Ainslie declared bankrupt; Risk and DCL adopt shares
- 1916: John Walker & Sons buy shares
- 1925: Risk bought out by John Walker & Sons
- 1930: DCL takes full control
- 1968: Clynelish 2 opens, original distillery closes
- 1969: Clynelish 1 reopens
- 1972: Heavily peated whisky starts production at Clynelish 1
- 1975: Original distillery renamed Brora
- 1977: Heavily peated whisky production mostly ceases
- 1983: Brora Distillery mothballed
- 1986: DCL became United Distillers
- 1998: United Distillers becomes a division of Diageo
- 2017: Diageo announce plans to reopen Brora distillery
- 2021: Brora Distillery reopens
Click here to see all of our Brora single malts range.