Coleburn

Anyone searching for Coleburn today finds a brand in transition: the Speyside distillery, built in 1897 to designs by the legendary architect Charles Doig, was mothballed in 1985 and had its licence finally withdrawn in 1992. Since 2014, the independent bottler Aceo Ltd. (owner of Murray McDavid) has operated the site's historic warehouses, releasing carefully blended malt whiskies under the Coleburn name.

And the story continues: under the direction of Keith Cruickshank, formerly master distiller at Benromach, actual distilling is set to return to the historic site by 2027. With the Coleburn Local Heros bottlings, you will find currently available blended malts carrying the name of this reviving distillery in our selection.

Why is Coleburn's history so complicated?

In 1897, John Robertson & Son Ltd. founded the Coleburn Distillery to designs by Charles Doig, one of Scotland's most significant distillery architects. After several changes of ownership – via the Clynelish Distillery Co. (1916), John Walker & Sons (1925), and the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) – its own maltings closed as early as 1968. The distillery was mothballed in 1985, its stills removed, and its licence finally withdrawn in 1992. The well-preserved Victorian buildings, however, remained standing. A project approved in 2010 to turn the site into "The World's First Whisky Hotel" never progressed beyond the planning stage.

How did new life return to the site?

In 2014, Aceo Ltd. – owner of independent bottler Murray McDavid – secured a long-term lease on the historic dunnage warehouses and founded Coleburn Distillery Ltd., which holds the rights to the Coleburn brand name. Since then, blended malt whiskies have been released under this name, such as the "Local Heros" series, built on a shared Speyside base of Glenlossie, Mannochmore, and Linkwood – explicitly not bottlings of original, historic Coleburn malt, which is now extremely rare. In parallel, construction of an entirely new, modern distillery is being prepared on the site: completion is planned for 2027, led by the experienced Keith Cruickshank.

Currently available bottlings

1. Coleburn Local Heros Sherry Bomb
A sherry-cask-forward blended malt from the Local Heros series.
Taste: Bold sherry sweetness with dark fruit.
Serving suggestion: For fans of intense, sherry-driven blended malts.

2. Coleburn Local Heros Big Smoke
A noticeably smokier expression from the same series.
Taste: Bold peat smoke meets Speyside fruitiness.
Serving suggestion: For anyone wanting smoke and Speyside character combined.

Facts and figures

Founded: 1897 by John Robertson & Son Ltd. Architect: Charles Doig. Mothballed: 1985 (licence withdrawn 1992). Revival: completion planned for 2027, led by Keith Cruickshank. Current brand owner: Aceo Ltd. / Coleburn Distillery Ltd.