Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Past, present and future are a perfect blend at new Fife distillery

Post Thumbnail

What is really special about Lindores Distillery is its location and the site’s history. Although whisky buffs know all about Friar John Cor and his invoice, few people realise just how important the abbey was in its days before the Reformation.

The monks of the Tironensian order stem from Tiron, about 25 miles south of Paris. They came to what is now Newburgh in the 12th Century and brought with them many skills and ideas that have greatly influenced local life. They were great bee-keepers and planted hundreds of acres of fruit trees – probably the origin of Newburgh’s famous plum fair.

They reclaimed acres of tidal foreshore to create agricultural land. And they dug a miles-long new channel to tap the outflow from the Loch of Lindores. Appositely called the Holy Burn, it brought fresh water to the abbey and monastery and also powered several mills along its route. However, the Holy Burn’s water is today considered unsuitable for distilling, with the new distillery taking its water from a 70-metre (230-foot) deep artesian well.

Like many monks, they shaved their heads but found the Scottish climate so cold they received special dispensation to wear hats.

They also brought brewing and distilling skills. Back then, water was considered unsafe to drink, so most households brewed beer or ale (although Newburgh dwellers had to pay an annual fee to the monastery for doing so). However, like other monastic orders throughout Europe, the Lindores monks kept the secrets of distilling to themselves – which may explain why alcohol is called spirit in several languages.

The abbey and monastery were places of pilgrimage, visited by many historic figures. Some are buried there, including the first Earl of Rothesay and Black Douglas.

The ruined abbey, house and farmland became part of Mugdrum Estate (named after the Tay island), and were bought by Drew’s grandfather John Howison in 1913 for £3000. The ruins were totally overgrown and for years a bull was kept there, possibly as an outsized watchdog.

Now the area has been cleared and distillery visitors can tour the abbey grounds with a map listing points of historic interest. Lindores will be unique among distilleries – blending the sacred and the secular, and the spirit of the past with the present.