Grange Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Grange Distillery was a Scotch whisky distillery located near Burntisland, in the Lowland region of Scotland. It was founded in 1786, on the site of an earlier brewery dating to 1767, and was closed in the mid-1920s after nearly a century and a half of production. It is remembered today chiefly for "Old Burntisland," a single malt whose few surviving bottles have become notable collectors' items.

History

The distillery stood on the lower slopes of the Binn hill at Kirkton, near Burntisland in Fife, drawing water from the Binn and Lonsdale burns. The site began as a brewery in 1767 under Boog and Thomson before being converted to whisky distilling in 1786. Following a rebuild in 1806, it was licensed to William Young and Co., a family who owned much of the surrounding farmland and remained closely associated with the business for the rest of its history. By the time whisky historian Alfred Barnard visited and documented it in his 1887 book The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, Grange was a substantial concern, with contemporary accounts putting annual output at up to several hundred thousand gallons. Its "Old Burntisland" malt whisky was sold across Scotland, England, India and the colonies, including through travelling salesmen such as Andrew Keddie in the 1890s. In 1883 the distillery is reputed to have installed a Coffey (patent) still alongside its traditional pot stills, said to be the first in Scotland to do so. In 1914, William Young and Co. was one of five whisky firms merged to form Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd, a forerunner of today's Diageo.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 1786
• Owner: Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd (successor to William Young and Co.); site now part of Diageo's historical portfolio
• Status: Closed
• Stills: Traditional pot stills, plus a Coffey (patent) still added in 1883

Closure & Legacy

Production was mothballed during the First World War (1914–1918) and again later in the 1920s, with distilling finally ceasing around 1925–1927 amid the difficult trading conditions of the interwar years, including the loss of the US export market to Prohibition. Although distillation stopped, the bonded warehouses on site continued to be used for maturing stock until 1987. The distillery buildings were later demolished, and today only fragments survive on the site — including a former manager's house, warehouse and cottage, since converted to flats — on land that has long been earmarked for housing development. No Grange single malt is produced or sold today, but surviving bottles of "Old Burntisland" are exceptionally rare: one is reported to have sold for around £90,000 at auction, reflecting the premium collectors place on whisky from long-closed Lowland distilleries such as this one.