New distilleries seem to be sprouting in Scotland like (pardon the analogy) dragon’s teeth, many of them on or close to the site of long-lost distilleries.
The new Dalmunoch distillery sits on the acres occupied by Imperial distillery until its closure and demolition. Wolfburn sits just a few hundred metres from its long-gone Victorian namesake near Thurso.
The newest proposed distillery will be called Glen Wyvis, sitting uphill from Dingwall and not far from long-lost Ben Wyvis distillery, named after the highest local peak.
Whisky distilling in that area has a long and fascinating history. Duncan Forbes of Culloden had his domains of Ferintosh sacked by the Jacobites for supporting King William of Orange. In recompense, the king allowed whisky distilled in Ferintosh to be sold duty-free for an annual payment of 400 merks. Four distilleries sprang up but eventually the deal was scrapped because of the unfair commercial advantage it gave to Ferintosh. Their closure even led Rabbie Burns to pen a lament for their good lost whisky.
The first Ben Wyvis distillery was opened in 1879 south of Dingwall beside the main road and rail line from Inverness. Interestingly, it drew its water from Loch Ussie, about four miles away, into which (legend has it) the great Brahan Seer threw his famous stone of second sight after he was condemned to death. Ben Wyvis enjoyed considerable initial success, but closed in the nadir year of 1926, although some warehouses still stand today, converted to other uses, and the distillery site itself is housing.
In 1965 the second Ben Wyvis was built as a malt distillery within the vast Invergordon grain distilling complex 12 miles further north. However, it lasted barely 11 years and was dismantled in the late 1970s. Occasionally bottles of that Ben Wyvis appear at auction or on whisky sales sites, usually at eye-watering prices.
The proposed new distillery will be called Glen Wyvis, possibly because whoever still owns the Ben Wyvis name is not prepared to relinquish it. While one wishes this project every success, one must ask if the high water mark of new distillery building has now passed.
