1875 – 1960

Glenglassaugh Distillery stands at the edge of Sandend bay, approximately two miles to the west of Portsoy. It was here, on the banks of the Glassaugh burn, in an area known to have been previously favoured by illicit distillers, that local entrepreneur Colonel James Moir built the distillery in 1875.

The distillery quickly established a reputation for producing quality whisky and the company prospered. Following the death of founder James Moir, the distillery’s ownership was passed to his two nephews who increased production in order to satisfy rising demand for their high quality whisky.

However, following the unexpected death of one of the nephews in 1892, the distillery was sold to Robertson & Baxter who had been a long standing customer. Robertson and Baxter immediately sold the distillery to the Highland Distilleries Company.

The distillery’s reputation for producing high quality malt whisky continued to grow but following a downturn in the whisky industry, the distillery was closed in 1907. Some of the buildings continued to be used but the distillation equipment remained silent. During the Second World War several buildings were used by military support personnel with the old maltings turned into a bakery.