Knockdhu Distillery was established in 1893 by John Morrison.
John Morrison had purchased the Knock estate from the
Duke of FifeDuke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, named after Fife in Scotland. There have been two creations of the title, the first in 1889 and the second in 1900, both in favour of Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife in the Peerage of Ireland and 1st Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the...
and shortly afterwards discovered several
springsA spring is any natural occurrence where water flows on to the surface of the earth from below the surface, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.- Formation :...
of fine
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
rising on the southern slopes of the Knock Hill. So taken by the quality of the water was Morrison that he sent samples away for analysis. Within a month, negotiations began, resulting in the construction of the Knockdhu Distillery at the base of the Knock Hill.
Knockdhu Distillery was established in 1893 by John Morrison.
John Morrison had purchased the Knock estate from the
Duke of FifeDuke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, named after Fife in Scotland. There have been two creations of the title, the first in 1889 and the second in 1900, both in favour of Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife in the Peerage of Ireland and 1st Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the...
and shortly afterwards discovered several
springsA spring is any natural occurrence where water flows on to the surface of the earth from below the surface, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.- Formation :...
of fine
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
rising on the southern slopes of the Knock Hill. So taken by the quality of the water was Morrison that he sent samples away for analysis. Within a month, negotiations began, resulting in the construction of the Knockdhu Distillery at the base of the Knock Hill. The site was also chosen for its proximity to the Knock Station on the Banff branch line of the
Great North of Scotland RailwayThe Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of Scotland. It was formed in 1845 and received its Parliamentary approval on June 26 1846, following over two years of local meetings...
(GNSR) between
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
and
ElginElgin is a former cathedral city and a former Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland and is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The city originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
. Not only was the new location convenient to the railway but it was also within a few miles of a district noted both for its
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
and inexhaustible source of excellent
peatPeat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. Peat forms in wetlandbogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests...
, both essential ingredients in fine
malt whiskiesSingle Malt Scotch is a type of single malt whisky, distilled by a single distillery in a pot still, using malted barley as the only grain ingredient, in Scotland...
.
Gordon & Macbey, of Elgin, were appointed architects and the
foundationsA foundation is a structure that transfers loads to the earth. Foundations are generally broken into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundation:...
were laid in May 1893. The distillery was constructed using grey
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...
of local origin. Power was supplied by a
steam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.The idea of using boiling water to produce mechanical motion has a long history, going back about 2000 years...
of 16 horse power and, when in full production, the two
pot stillA pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot containing the mash or wine . This is called a batch distillation ....
s could turn out 2,500
gallonA gallon is a measure of volume of approximately four litres. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use. These are the U.S. liquid gallon and the lesser used U.S...
s of
spiritA distilled beverage, liquor, or spirits is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by means of distilling fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables.This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine, and often the term hard liquor is used to contrast distilled beverages...
per week.
Knockdhu Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky is currently bottled under the
GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
name
anCnoc meaning "the hill".
The distillery is owned by
Inver House Distillers LimitedInver House Distillers Limited was established in 1964 as a subsidiary of the American company, Publicker Industries of Philadelphia. Publicker Industries had successfully launched Inver House Rare, a branded of blended Scotch whisky in 1956, however, as a result of Industry demand there were not...
, whose other distilleries include
The Speyburn-Glenlivet DistilleryThe Speyburn-Glenlivet Distillery was founded in 1897 by John Hopkins & Company for the sum of £17,000. The site was chosen by John Hopkins himself for its unpolluted water supply from the Granty Burn, one of the major tributaries to the River Spey...
, Old Pulteney Distillery,
Balblair Distilleryright|thumb|250px|View of Balblair DistilleryBalblair Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Edderton, Ross-shire, Scotland.Originally founded in 1790, the distillery was rebuilt in 1895 by the designer Charles C Doig to be closer to the Edderton Railway Station on the Inverness and...
, and
Balmenach DistilleryBalmenach Distillery was established in 1824 by James MacGregor, from a family of alleged smugglers who resided in Tomintoul.- History :Situated in the district of Cromdale on the banks of the River Spey the distillery stands in beneath the nearby hill of Tom Lethendry where the Jacobites were...
.
See also
- Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize...
- Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
- List of whisky brands
- List of distilleries in Scotland
External links