Gartloch (grain) Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Gartloch Distillery is a closed Scotch grain whisky distillery that stood near Garnkirk, in the Lowland region of Scotland, roughly nine miles northeast of Glasgow city centre. It was founded in 1897 and produced grain whisky from 1900 until it was mothballed in 1927, later being demolished. Little of the site survives today, but Gartloch is remembered as one of the many Lowland grain distilleries built during the speculative "whisky boom" of the 1890s and later absorbed into the Distillers Company Limited (DCL).

History

Gartloch Distillery was constructed between 1898 and 1900 on Woodhead Road near Garnkirk, close to a railway siding connecting it to Garnkirk station, in what is now North Lanarkshire. It was built by Northern Distilleries Limited, one of several ventures formed to capitalise on the surge in whisky demand during the 1890s. The company ran into financial trouble and went bankrupt in 1900, just as the distillery was brought on stream. From 1902 the distillery was operated by James Calder & Co., a Glasgow-based whisky firm, and it continued in operation under this ownership for close to two decades. Drum maltings were added to the site in 1919. At its peak the distillery employed around 160 workers and, in addition to the main production buildings, its site included filter beds, warehousing, and cottages for staff. In 1921 Gartloch was acquired, along with the Bo'ness distillery, by the Distillers Company Limited (DCL), the dominant force in the Scotch whisky industry at the time.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 1897 (construction began; first production in 1900)
• Owner: Distillers Company Limited (DCL) from 1921; previously James Calder & Co. (1902–1921) and Northern Distilleries Limited (founders)
• Status: Closed

Closure & Legacy

Under DCL's ownership, Gartloch was mothballed in December 1927 as the company rationalised its portfolio of grain distilleries amid falling demand in the interwar years, and the buildings were demolished in 1935. Some of DCL's successor, Scottish Grain Distillers, continued to use warehousing on or near the former site into the later 20th century, and scattered concrete remains and foundations can still be found in what is now a wooded area near Garnkirk. Because Gartloch closed nearly a century ago and never re-emerged as a brand, surviving bottlings and casks distilled there are effectively unknown on the open market; any authenticated Gartloch-labelled whisky would be an exceptionally rare historical curiosity rather than a collectible in general circulation.