Construction started in 1959 and the first drops of distilled liquid flowed into the spirit safe in 1961. Tormore was the first distillery to be built in Scotland in the 20th century and was commissioned by Long John International (LJI). When it was built it was a unique piece of architectural work, it is made of granite, has copper rotors and a clock with a mechanism that plays Scottish songs every fifteen minutes. This distillery is today a listed building.
Production capacity was doubled in 1972. Some 12 years later the pot stills were adapted to be heated by wood chips, a byproduct of the local forestry industry. The founding group LJI was absorbed into Whitbread & Co. in 1975. This latter group was absorbed into Allied Domecq which in turn was absorbed by Pernod Ricard in 2005.
Most of the spirit produced at Tormore distillery is used in blends and the many single malt releases from this distillery are bottled by Independent companies.
