Longmorn Distillery

This distillery is located just to the south of Elgin. It was built in 1893 by persistent entrepreneur (John Duff) who had previously attempted to start the distilling industry in South Africa. His attempt ended in failure and he left South Africa and went to the US. His attempts at setting a distillery there also failed and he returned to Scotland. Upon his return he built the Longmorn distillery in 1893 and five years later he built Benriach distillery.

The same year that Benriach distillery was completed the entire industry suffered one of its biggest crisis: The Pattison Crisis. John Duff sold his Longmorn and Benriach distilleries to James Grant. Blenders favoured Longmorn and Benriach whiskies and used them on famous blends like VAT 69 and Dewar's.

In the 1920's Japanese whisky legend Masetaka Taketsuru worked at Longmorn distillery for a brief period of time after he completed his Chemistry degree at Glasgow University. Those on the know claim that the pot stills at the Nikka distillery in Japan are a replica of the stills at Longmorn.

In 1970 the parent company of Longmorn was acquired by a bigger fish and that bigger fish was taken over by an ever bigger one in 1977: Seagram Distillers. The Seagram group collapsed in the 1990's and these days Pernod-Ricard are the proud owners of Longmorn distillery. The 15 and 16 year old releases have a cult-like following among whisky enthusiasts.

The style of whisky produced at Longmorn distillery is complex, textured and rich. It is achieved by using a medium-length fermentation period and onion-shaped stills. Bottlings released by independent bottlers offer great value in many occasions. 

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