Royal Brackla Distillery

Royal Brackla distillery is located in Cawdor, near Nairn. It was built in 1817 by a local captain who had a fame of being 'rather quick to lose his temper'. The whisky proved to be very popular and it became the first whisky to acquire a royal warrant in 1835. Eventually the the whisky became known as: 'The King's own whisky'.

The whisky from this distillery was used by blenders from the second half of the 19th century onwards. It was certainly one of the first few malt whiskies to be used in blends that went on to become commercially successful and even legendary. This distillery was certainly successful, by 1897 it reported that '.. demand outstripped supply'.

Like most other distilleries at the time, Royal Brackla faced difficult trading periods. The Pattison crisis, WWI and reduced demand from the US market due to the prohibition, all affected Brackla distillery and many others. The distillery changed hands a couple of times more and in 1943 it was acquired by Distillers Company Limited (DCL).

Under the ownership of DCL the distillery saw its production capacity increased. This move led to the distillery stopping operations between 1985 and 1991 as the industry saw oversupply and decreased demand. The distillery was sold to Bacardi-Martini along with other distilleries in the Dewar's portfolio. This whisky and others were re-launched in 2014 as part of 'The Last Great Malts of Scotland' by the Bacardi group.

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