The HISTORY

of

DISTILLING in the

CABRACH

A Report for The Cabrach Trust

Dr Kieran German & Gregor Adamson

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Contents

List of illustrations

Overview

Outcomes

Introduction

1. Location of Licensed Distilleries in the Cabrach

2. The Nature of Early Licensed Cabrach Stills

2.1 Outputs of the Cabrach Distilleries

2.2 Ownership Status and Management

3. The Conversion of Cabrach Farms into Legal Distilleries

4. Description of the Distilleries and the Whisky Making Process

5. Raw Materials Historically Used in Mashing

6. Transportation and Storage of Spirit

7. Final Consumption of Legal Cabrach Whisky

8. The Closure of the Licensed Cabrach Stills

9. The Role of Inverharroch Farm in Distilling

10. Illicit Distilling in the Cabrach

10.1 Raw Materials

10.2 Methodology

10.3 Smuggling

10.4 Consumption of Illicit Cabrach Whisky

11. Conclusion and Blueprint Information for the Recreation of an Early

Licensed Distillery at Inverharroch

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12. Bibliography

13. Author Biographies

14. Acknowledgements

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List of illustrations

Figure 1: Early 20th Century Drawn Map of the Cabrach Parish (James Taylor,

Cabrach Feerings, 1920)

Figure 2: Ordnance Survey Map of Tamnaven Farm, 1872 (National Library of

Scotland, reproduction permission required ,see: www.maps.nls.uk/copyright.html.)

Figure 3: Ordnance Survey Map of Mains of Lesmurdie, 1872 (National Library of

Scotland, reproduction permission required ,see: www.maps.nls.uk/copyright.html.)

Figure 4: Plan of Blackmiddens Farm, 1827 (National Records of Scotland RHP 225)

Figure 5: Distillery Discharge Voucher for Buck Distillery, 1826 (National Records of

Scotland E581/4/50)

Figure 6: Photograph of the Engine Room at Blackmiddens (The Cabrach Trust

Copyright)

Figure 7: Drawing and Notes Regarding the Design of a Still for Distilling Liquor

(Aberdeen University Library MS3470/21/53, copyright Aberdeen University Library

Special Collections)

Figure 8: Sir David Wilkie, ‘The Highland Whisky Still at Lochgilphead’ (1818) oil on

panel (Private collection, reproduction under license, see:

https://www.bridgemanimages.com/)

Figure 9: Plan of Craigend Distillery, 1790 (National Records of Scotland RHP

80866/1)

Figure 10: Advertisement for Cabrach whisky in the Aberdeen Press and Journal,

1834 (The British Newspaper Archive, reproduction permission required, see:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/content/terms_and_conditions)

Figure 11: Photograph of the Garden Cottage Still (Perth Art Gallery and Museum,

copyright Culture Perth and Kinross)

Figure 12: Photograph of Smuggler’s Well, an illicit whisky bothy at Clayshooter Hill

(The Cabrach Trust Copyright)

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Figure 13: Plan Showing Smugglers Path (Aberdeen University Library MS

3860/30303, copyright Aberdeen University Library Special Collections)

Figure 14: John Pettie, ‘The Tussle for the Keg’ (1868) oil on canvas (Copyright

Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum)

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Overview

This report has been commissioned by the Cabrach Trust to provide a sound and

scientific research upon which to establish a heritage centre incorporating an

authentic historic farm distillery in the Cabrach. The aim of the Trust is to showcase

the rich distilling heritage of the Cabrach, as well as to develop a sustainable

enterprise which actively promotes and contributes to the Cabrach community while

simultaneously making a unique contribution to the culture of the Scotch whisky

industry. The Cabrach Trust is progressing plans to convert Inverharroch Farm in the

Cabrach into a heritage centre which incorporates a working distillery, an exhibition

space and a café & visitor centre. This distillery is intended to operate on a scale and

in a manner that replicates as closely as possible the legal stills extant in the

Cabrach in the period 1823-c.1851 (while nevertheless including certain features

which adhere to modern standards of health, safety and hygiene). The heritage

centre will also tell the story of the Cabrach’s rich history of distilling both illicitly and

legally.

Accordingly, this report will enable the Trust to pursue its aims on the basis of fact.

Through extensive archival research, the report’s authors have compiled a litany of

detailed evidence which fills an historiographical gap in knowledge on the nature of

early licensed farm distilleries in northern Scotland generally. However, with a

specific focus on distilling in the Cabrach, the report delivers for the first time a clear,

quantifiable and fully referenced record of the scale of distilling in the Cabrach. It

demonstrates and analyses the social, cultural and economic importance of whsiky

production in the Cabrach. The cumulative result of this report is that it contains the

necessary information which will allow the Cabrach Trust to develop a ‘blueprint’ for

the recreation of an early licenced distillery at Inverharroch Farm.

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Outcomes:

This report

● Identifies and locates the licensed distilleries in the Cabrach.

● Establishes the extent to which Inverharroch Farm and its lands played any

part in the distilling industry in the early 19th century.

● Describes the nature of the early licensed stills in the Cabrach and offers an

understanding of the production process, volume of the spirit produced etc.

● Demonstrates how farms in the Cabrach would have been converted to

become licensed distilleries.

● Provides a description and images of new licensed distilleries of this period.

● Provides details on where equipment used by the early licensed distillers was

sourced.

● Provides information on how the spirit product was transported, stored and

matured at this time (including information on storage/maturation methods),

and where this product would have ultimately been destined and sold.

● Provides details on the nature of the raw materials used for mashing at this

time and how these ingredients might be sourced today.

● Provides information regarding the eventual consumption of the finished

product.

● Provides information on why the licensed distilleries at the Cabrach eventually

closed down and ceased business.

● Provides the information will enable the Cabrach Trust to create a ‘blueprint’

for the recreation of an early licenced distillery at Inverharroch.

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Introduction

Whisky distilling forms a key part of the history and heritage of the Cabrach. Illicit

and licensed production was a major industry in the 18th and 19th centuries,

throughout this remote, rural area of the Grampian Uplands. All members of society

were linked to distilling. From the landless cotters, to the principle landowners,

whisky formed a key part of everyday life in the region. At the height of illicit

production, the Cabrach was, ‘a legendary haunt of distillers’.1 It was claimed that

there was at least one illegal still at every farm in the parish in the early 1800s,

making it almost certain that the residents of Inverharroch would have possessed a

still. 2 The isolated landscape of the district allowed local residents to carry out

clandestine distilling and smuggling almost uninhibited, with little outside interference

from Excise officials. Government intervention eventually disrupted this illicit

industry, as unlicensed production was virtually eradicated throughout Scotland by

the 1830s. This stimulated small scale legal production, and numerous small scale

distilleries were established, particularly in Highland areas of Scotland, including the

Cabrach. Like illicit distilling, these legal ventures were vital to the local economy,

forming an integral part of the local community. Both unlicensed and legal Cabrach

whiskies were renowned for quality throughout the North-east of Scotland,

demanding prices equivalent to Glenlivet. The comparison to Glenlivet is a historical

record which will recur in this report, and is significant because it suggests a parity of

quality between Cabrach and Glenlivet whiskies. Despite this reputation, distilling in

the Cabrach had ceased by 1851, while Glenlivet ensconced its reputation for

producing premium Scotch, an anomaly based on diverging commercial

circumstances rather than the standard of the respective whiskies, as will be detailed

below. The decline of Cabrach distilling deprived the area of a key industry, which

had formed a major part of the cultural identity of the region for generations.

1 Gavin D. Smith, The Secret Still: Scotland’s Clandestine Whisky Makers (Berlinn, Edinburgh, 2002),

p. 78. 2 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available from:

http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017); J. Black, ‘On the Agriculture of Aberdeen and Banff Shires’ in Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 3(4) (1871), pp. 1 -36.

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This report aims to deliver specific research outcomes relating to historic distilling in

the Cabrach. It begins by demonstrating the number and the location of the legally

established distilleries of the district. It then goes on to show the nature of these legal

distilleries, providing evidence to give an accurate impression of the distilleries’

sizes, production processes, outputs and an explanation of the raw materials they

used. Details are given on the methods of storing, transporting, selling and

consuming the final product, Cabrach whisky. The description of the nature of the

distilleries reflects on their ownership status, management, and relationship to

farming in the Cabrach. This understanding of how farms in the Cabrach lent

themselves to be managed as distilleries is developed in a discussion of the fabric of

distillery buildings and apparatus. It explains how the Cabrach distilleries would have

been assembled and operated, the manner in which early distilleries sourced

equipment and the challenges faced by such premises. The report goes on to offer

an analysis of factors likely to have led to the closure of the Cabrach distilleries.

In addition, the report explores the manner in which Inverharroch farm will have

interacted with the distilling industries both before and after the 1823 Excise Act.

Finally, the report surveys the nature of illicit distilling in the Cabrach, demonstrating

its importance to the local economy and the cultural significance of smuggling to the

people of the parish. In so doing, this report utilises research of primary evidence to

shine new light on the importance of whisky making to the people and culture of the

Cabrach.

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Figure 1: Map of Cabrach Parish taken from James Taylor, Cabrach Feerings (The Banffshire

Journal, Banff,1920).

1. Location of Licensed Distilleries in the Cabrach

In order to curtail illicit distilling which was viewed by the Excise establishment in the

early 1800s as, ‘the bane of Scotland, by injuring the fair trader, diminishing the

revenue, and demoralising the people…’3, the Westminster government began a

process of re-evaluating Excise policy, with the aim of stimulating legal distillation,

particularly in the notorious whisky smuggling districts of the Highlands. This

3 Report from the Select Committee on Petitions complaining of the additional Duty on Malt in

Scotland, 1821, House of Commons Papers, 8(598), p. 46

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culminated in the 1822 Illicit Distillation (Scotland) Act and the 1823 Excise Act.

Combined, these two pieces of legislation radically altered distilling practices

throughout Scotland. Prior to this, government controls regarding whisky distilling

had been ineffective, often encouraging illicit activities, and hindering legal distilling,

especially in Highland areas.

Perhaps the most notoriously ill-advised piece of government intervention was the

1784 Wash Act. This legislation was introduced by the government with

encouragement from the Excise authorities, and involved the simplification of the

administration of distillery duties, alongside the lowering of duties in both England

and Lowland Scotland.4 Furthermore, Highland distillers were regulated under a

totally different system, and were charged a lower duty than their Lowland

neighbours. Under the Act, the Highlands were defined as the several counties of

Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, Inverness, Argyll, Bute, Stirling, Lanark, Perth,

Dumbarton, Aberdeen, Forfar, Kincardine, Banff, Nairn, and Moray. 5

Understandably, Lowland distillers were outraged at the perceived unfairness of the

Act, and in 1785 it was amended stipulating that; stills in the Highlands could not

exceed a capacity of 40 gallons, only grain grown in the parish could be used in

malting, malt used each year was limited to 250 bolls, and there could only be two

licensed distilleries per Highland parish. 6 Additionally, to ensure distillers in the

Highlands did not gain an unfair advantage they were prohibited from exporting their

whisky to Lowland markets. The establishment of this Highland – Lowland divide not

only stimulated small scale legal Highland distilling, but also further encouraged

widely practiced illicit distilling and smuggling. Unlicensed Highland producers could

earn significant profits by unlawfully transporting their whisky for sale in the rapidly

expanding Lowland market. This smuggling trade was further stimulated by many of

the larger Lowland producers adopting rapid distillation methods which greatly

reduced the quality of their whisky, creating a huge demand for high quality

traditionally distilled Highland whisky in the south of Scotland.7 The exclusion of

4 Michael Moss and David Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky: A History of the Scotch Whisky

Distilling Industry (James and James, Edinburgh, 1981), p. 44. 5 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 44. 6 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 45. 7 T. M. Devine, ‘The Rise and Fall of Illicit Whisky-Making in Northern Scotland c. 1780-1840’ in The

Scottish Historical Review, 54(158), (1975), p. 160.

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legal Highland producers from the Lowland market put them at a great disadvantage

to their smuggling counterparts, and this imbalance was heightened further by

increases in duty and license fees throughout the 1790s, forcing many small legal

Highland distillers out of business.8 Legal Highland distilleries were dealt a further

blow in 1814, as the rules under which English distilleries operated were extended to

both Lowland and Highland distillers.9 Therefore, the use of wash stills less than 500

gallons were banned in Highland areas, outlawing all but a tiny minority of legal

distilleries in the north of Scotland.10 As a result, there were only 12 licensed

Highland distillers in 1816, with only 1 in the whole of Aberdeenshire.11 This decline

in licensed Highland production coupled with the seemingly uninhibited practice of

illicit distillation forced the government to rethink Excise policy throughout Scotland.

In 1816 the Small Stills Act was introduced, finally abolishing the ineffectual Highland

Line, which prevented the sale of legal Highland spirits in the Lowland market.

Furthermore, the disastrous proposals of 1814 were scrapped and all Scottish

distillers were able to use whatever size of still they wished (above forty gallons),

under the same regulations, pay the same level of duty, and sell their whisky in any

market it found.12 Initially the success of this legislation was limited as the number of

licensed Highland operations rose slightly from 39 in 1817 to 46 by 1823. 13

However, the legislation was backed up by the passing of the Illicit Distillation

(Scotland) Act in 1822, and the Excise Act of 1823. These Acts dramatically altered

the practice of whisky distilling in the Highland regions of Scotland. The Acts

combined to impose severe penalties on those caught producing and transporting

unlicensed whisky, alongside reducing the duty on legal spirits by half and

introducing a universal license fee of £10 for the right to distil.14 This legislation

radically altered the nature of small scale distilling, making the continuation of illicit

production unattractive to many and therefore reducing the practice significantly

8 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 53. 9 Vivian E. Dietz, ‘The Politics of Whisky: Scottish Distillers, the Excise and the Pittite State’ in The

Journal of British Studies, 36(1), (1997), p.67. 10 Devine, The Rise and Fall of Illicit Whisky-Making in Northern Scotland, p. 160. 11 Report from the Select Committee on Petitions complaining of the additional Duty on Malt in

Scotland, cited in Devine, The Rise and Fall of Illicit Whisky-Making in Northern Scotland, p. 161. 12 Dietz, The Politics of Whisky: Scottish Distillers, the Excise and the Pittite State, p.68. 13 Moss and Hume. The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 65. 14 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p.70.

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throughout Scotland. The number of detections of illicit distilling fell from 14,000 in

1823, to 696 in 1834, to just 6 in 1874.15 Nonetheless, unlicensed distilling was not

totally eradicated in Scotland, as it lingered on in the heartlands of clandestine

distilling activities in the north-east of the country, including the Cabrach, albeit on a

significantly diminished scale. As late as 1827 illegal distillation was regarded as

prevalent throughout the remote hills of the Cabrach by Excise officials.16

While the legislation was not entirely effective in the suppression of illicit Cabrach

whisky production and distribution, the combined Acts certainly stimulated licensed

manufacture in the parish, alongside many other areas of the country. The

government intervention made it viable to carry out small scale legal distilling in

Scotland for the first time, and as a result between, October 1823 and August 1824,

134 new legal stills were set up throughout the country.17 In the Highlands, the

number of legal distilleries increased from 46 in 1823 to 101 in 1828.18

It has long been believed that during this period of increasing legal production, five

small legal distilleries were established in the Cabrach. Moss and Hume in their

significant work The Making of Scotch Whisky, state that Blackmiddens, Buck,

Cabrach, Lesmurdie, and Tamnaven distilleries, were all located within the parish of

Cabrach. 19 Unfortunately, this information is somewhat misleading and from

material gathered from local primary and secondary sources, including Parliamentary

Papers, it can be stated that only three legal Cabrach distilleries operated during the

early 19th century, two located in Lower Cabrach and one in the Upper Cabrach on

the parish boundary with Rhynie.

It is stated in the New Statistical Account of Scotland that, ‘There are two small

distilleries in the parish, bearing a very high character for the excellence of the malt

spirits produced at them, conducted by Messrs John Taylor, Lesmurdie, and James

Robertson, Tomnavin.’20 This Account was compiled by the parish minister Rev

James Gordon, writing in March 1842. Gordon’s statement regarding two licensed 15 Gavin D. Smith, ‘Twelve Dates of Whisky’ in The Scotch Whisky Review, 12, (1999), p.9. 16 National Records of Scotland (NRS) JC4/17: Book of Adjournal, 5 Feb 1827-11 Jan 1828. 17 The National Archives (TNA) T1/2301 (15612): report on Distilling in Scotland, 1824. 18Seventh Report of Commissioners into the Excise cited in Devine, The Rise and Fall of Illicit

Whisky-Making in Northern Scotland, p. 174. 19 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, pp. 251 -272. 20 Cabrach, County of Banff, New Statistical Account of 1834-1845, p. 198.

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distilleries operating in the Cabrach is echoed in the works of the notable local

historian James Taylor. Writing in the early 19th century he stated that, ‘for some

time there were two bona fide distilleries in Lower Cabrach, one at Mains of

Lesmurdie, and the other at Tomnaven …’21 Taylor provides a further description of

the location of the legal distilling ventures in Cabrach Feerings:

farther down the river, Mains of Lesmurdie and Boghead, both below the road.

At Mains, the most important farm on the Lesmurdie estate, is the Lodge of

Lesmurdie, once no doubt a pleasant dwelling, overlooking one of the best

pools on the river ; but now, the trees having grown so closely about it, it is

dark and damp, and from long neglect quite uninhabitable. Mains comprises

two farms, the other being Cauldstripe … Until about 1837 there was a

distillery at the Mains … Below Belcherry, a convenient footbridge across the

river takes us to the Daugh of Corinacy, which includes all the farms on the

right bank of the river in Lower Cabrach, and also the farm of Bank, now

reckoned in Upper Cabrach. The first place we come to is Tomnaven, the little

hillock of the river. Formerly it comprised both Upper and Lower Tomnaven,

and there was a flourishing distillery in the early part of last century, and for

some years a private school.22

This secondary description is backed up by the diary of John Taylor of Boghead.

This personal memoir was written between 1836-1887, and provides a valuable first-

hand account of the day to day happenings of the Cabrach throughout the 19th

century. On 21st July 1836, Taylor details that, ‘Married at Mains of Lesmurdy by the

Rev. James Gordon, minister at Cabrach, James Robertson, Jun, Tomnaven, to

Miss Margaret Taylor daughter of the deceased James Taylor, farmer and distiller at

Mains of Lesmurdie. Attended the wedding.’23 Taylor also provides information of

another Cabrach wedding between, ‘Mr Rose, Excise Officer, and Miss Smith,

daughter of the deceased James Smith, farmer and distiller, Blackmiddens, parish of

21 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 22 James Taylor, Cabrach Feerings, (Banff, 1920), p. 46, 52. 23 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017).

15

Rhynie.’24 From these primary and secondary accounts it is clear that there were

two legal stills in the Lower Cabrach during the early 1800s, one situated at the farm

of Tomnaven, and the other at Mains of Lesmurdie. Additionally, there was a

distillery at the farm of Blackmiddens situated in the Upper Cabrach, on the parish

boundary with Rhynie.

Evidence gathered from Parliamentary Papers, Distillery Discharge Vouchers, and

Estate Papers provides further information relating to the legal Cabrach ventures and

backs up the earlier assertion that there were three, rather than five, legally

operating distilleries. In regards to Tomnaven, the distillery was in operation

between 1828 and the early 1840s25, under the ownership of James Robertson, with

his brother Alexander Robertson, acting as the principal manager of the distillery.26

Throughout the early 1800s, the Robertson family were tenants of the farm Nether

Tomnaven, with James Robertson undertaking a nineteen year lease of the property

in 1824.27 As early as 1811 the factor to the duke of Gordon proposed that Nether

and Upper Tomnaven be merged because ‘the lower farm is now possessed by two

brothers who seem the most industrious tenants in the country and therefore require

a little more room.28 Yet it was not until 1838 that James Robertson also became

the principle tenant of Upper Tomnaven, merging the farms into a single unit.29 In

the 1841 Census, James Robertson is listed as the head of the Household and

Alexander Robertson gives his occupation as a distiller.30 From this information, it

can be gathered that the distillery of Tomnaven was located at the farm steading of

Nether Tomnaven, in Lower Cabrach, simply referred to as Tomnaven after the

merging of the two separate farm units in 1838.

24 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 25 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-31. House

of Commons Papers, 34(249), p.6; NRS CH2/45/2: Cabrach Kirk Session: Minutes 1757-1862. 26 NRS E581/7/51: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 7-8, 1829-1830. 27 NRS CR6/13: Banff: Ledger of tenants of the estate of Cabrach, 1836-1867. 28 NRS GD44/39/8/1: Cabrach and Kildrummy: Papers in submission between the duke of Richmond

and Gordon of Wardhouse over marches of Cabrach and Kildrummy, including copy contents and valuation of the Cabrach according to an arrangement made out in July 1811, 1840-56. 29 NRS CR6/13. 30 Census 1841, Scotland, Cabrach, Aberdeenshire, Available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/ (Accessed 23 February 2017).

16

Figure 2: Ordnance Survey Map of Tomnaven, 1870 © National Library of Scotland

The distillery described in the primary evidence of Rev Gordon and John Taylor of

Boghead, as being located at the Mains of Lesmurdie was officially known as The

Cabrach Distillery. In the Distillery Discharge Returns from 1828, the voucher is

made out to, ‘James Taylor of the distillery of the Cabrach.’ 31 Furthermore,

Parliamentary Papers showing Accounts relating to Scottish Distilleries list James

Taylor as a distiller, between 1826 – 1832, with the situation of his distillery recorded

as the Cabrach.32 After 1833, John Taylor, who was previously listed as principle

distillery manager for a brief period in 1830, took over as the distiller at Cabrach

distillery.33 Previous primary evidence from the Cabrach Diary states that James

Taylor was a, ‘farmer and distiller at the Mains of Lesmurdie.’34 Furthermore, in

1841 John Taylor was listed as the principle tenant at the Mains.35 This combination

of documentary evidence strongly indicates that the so called Cabrach distillery was

located at the Mains of Lesmurdie. However, there has been some previous

31 NRS E581/6/50: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 7-8, 1828-1829. 32Account of Number of Gallons of Wash distilled from Malt, and Proof Spirits made from Malt, in

Scotland and Ireland, 1826-27. House of Commons Papers, 18(561); Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), Command Papers, 30(8), p. 5 and 8. 33 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 34 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 35 Census, 1841, Scotland, Cabrach, Aberdeenshire.

17

misunderstanding regarding legal distilling on this site. Moss and Hume have

previously suggested that Cabrach and Lesmurdie were two distinct distilleries

operating in separate locations within the Cabrach.36 This point of view stems from a

single reference to James Taylor and Co, distillers at Lesmurdie, in a Commissioners

of Enquiry Report relating to the Excise Establishment from 1834.37 It is true that

James Taylor was legally distilling at Lesmurdie, however all other official returns

cited in official government papers list the name of Taylor’s licensed distillery as the

Cabrach. The 1834 Report also lists the name of the proprietor of the Lesmurdie

distillery as James Taylor and Co. Thus, it could be argued that Taylor was involved

in two separate distilleries, firstly as the sole proprietor of the Cabrach distillery, and

additionally as part of a co-operative with other Cabrach tenants at the so called

Lesmurdie distillery. However, Distillery Discharge Papers reveal that many other

individuals were involved in the running of the Cabrach distillery. Between May and

September 1830, five different persons were officially named as the principal

manager of the distillery.38 Clearly the Cabrach distillery was being managed and

operated collectively by a group of local tenants, with Taylor acting as the main

licensee until 1833. Small farm stills were often run in this manner, and it is highly

unlikely that Taylor was operating individually at one distillery and as part of a whisky

making collective on a separate site. From this it can be argued that Cabrach and

Lesmurdie were one and the same, and The Cabrach was the name given to the

distillery situated at the Mains of Lesmurdie, operated firstly by James Taylor, who

was succeeded by his relative John Taylor in 1832.

36 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 252 and 265. 37 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Sixth Report (Tobacco and Foreign Spirits); Seventh

Report (British Spirits, Part I.), Command Papers, 67(237), p. 231. 38 NRS E581/8/48: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 5-6, 1830-1831

(John Farquhaison, Alexander Simpson, Alexander Robertson, John Taylor, and William McKenzie were listed as the principal manager of the Cabrach distillery throughout 1830).

18

Figure 3: Ordnance Survey Map of Mains of Lesmurdie, 1870 © National Library of Scotland

Similar confusion surrounds the third Cabrach distillery. Referred to as both Buck

and Blackmiddens, this small legal still was located at Blackmiddens farm in the

Upper Cabrach, on the parish boundary with Rhynie. The exact location of the

distillery is shown on a plan of Blackmiddens Farm, dating from 1827. This Plan is a

critical source of information regarding legal production in the Cabrach, and the

drawing clearly shows that there was small distillery located at Blackmiddens Farm

in the 1820s.

Figure 4: NRS RHP 225 Plan of Farm of Blackmiddens, 1827 © National Records of Scotland

19

It has been stated that Buck and Blackmiddens were two separate distilleries,

located separately at Buck Farm and the steading of Blackmiddens, both operated

by James Smith.39 This however, was certainly not the case. Distillery Discharge

Vouchers reveal that for Buck Distillery the allowance on proof spirits made from

malt only was paid to James Smith Distiller, at Blackmiddens.40 Furthermore, from

1826-27 the situation of the distillery was officially recorded as Buck, whilst the name

of the distillery in the Excise Book was listed as Blackmiddens. 41 After 1827,

Blackmiddens was dropped and the distillery was solely referred to as Buck. It is

unclear why this occurred, however it terms of marketing the whisky it could be

argued that Buck has less negative connotations than Blackmiddens, whereas the

name ‘Buck’ gives a geographical indication of the whisky's provenance which draws

upon the positive reputation enjoyed by Cabrach distilling. The argument that there

was a separate distillery at Buck farm lacks sufficient documented evidences as

James Smith was not a tenant of the smallholding during the operating period of the

Buck/Blackmiddens distillery. The tenant of the steading throughout the 1820s and

1830s was William Souter who regularly struggled to meet rent payments and held

no official lease.42 This casts doubt on the viability of there being a small licensed

distillery at the farm. It is highly unlikely that a tenant would invest in the conversion

of farm buildings in order to facilitate distilling practices if they had no security of

tenure. Therefore, there is numerous documented evidence to suggest that

Blackmiddens farm was the situation of the Buck distillery, and the farm of Buck was

not involved in legal distilling practices. This distillery produced whisky between

1825-1833, operated by James Smith, and for a brief period in 1833, his wife

Elizabeth Smith.43

39 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 251 and 252. 40 NRS E581/4/50: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 1-2, 1826-1827. 41 Accounts relating to Malt and Spirits in Ireland and Scotland, 1826-27. House of Commons Papers,

17(529), pp. 5 and 8. 42 NRS GD44/51/734/1-6: Rentals of the lands of Cabrach, 1709-1825. 43 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102.

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Figure 5: NRS E581-4-50 Distillery Discharge Voucher for Buck Distillery

© National Records of Scotland

A great deal of uncertainty has grown around the number and location of the legal

Cabrach stills from the early 19th century. There various guises has created the

impression that there were five licensed distilleries in the parish. This however, was

not the case. The numerous documented evidence examined in this report section

demonstrates that, in fact, there were three operating licensed distilleries in the

Cabrach; Tomnaven Distilery, located at the farm of Tomnaven; The Cabrach

Distillery, located at the Mains of Lesmurdie, and finally, Buck/Blackmiddens

Distillery, located at Blackmiddens farm.

2. The Nature of Early Licensed Cabrach Stills

As it has now been established that there were three licenced distilleries operating in

the Cabrach in the early 19th century, along with their locations, an investigation of

the nature of these legal stills will now take place. This examination will consider the

volume of wash and spirits produced at each legal distillery, alongside their

ownership status and management.

2.1 Outputs of the Cabrach Distilleries

Official Excise Returns and Distillery Discharge Vouchers provide key data relating

to the output of the Cabrach distilleries. This material will now be detailed in regards

to the three separate distilleries to demonstrate the volume of spirit they were

producing. This helps to shape a picture of the nature of these small legal Cabrach

ventures.

Buck/Blackmiddens

The Excise records show that Buck/Blackmiddens started producing whisky in 1825,

with James Smith named as the license holder and distiller.44 From October 1825 to

44 Accounts relating to Malt and Spirits in Ireland and Scotland, 1826-27, p. 8.

21

October 1826, the distillery produced 2,528 gallons of malt spirit from 27,203 gallons

of wash.45 During 1826, the distillery produced an average of 49 gallons of malt

spirits weekly, using approximately 32.5 bushels of malt. 46 The highest weekly

output of spirits for the year was 99 gallons, while the lowest was 29 gallons.47

Between October 1826 and October 1827, the annual output of the distillery fell to

1,745 gallons of malt spirit, from 18,282 gallons of wash.48 In 1827 the distillery

began producing whisky using corn wash, producing an annual total of 43,174

gallons, which was distilled into 4,226 gallons of whisky.49 During 1828, the distillery

continued to produce malt spirits using only bere and bigg, manufacturing 115

gallons weekly between October and November of that year from 60 bushels of

malt.50 Between January 1829 and January 1830, the legal still produced 3,682

gallons of malt spirits, using 2,201 bushels of malt for the year. 51

Buck/Blackmiddens also continued to distil from Corn wash producing 46,630

gallons from October 1829 to October 1830, increasing output to 4,854 gallons of

spirit annually.52

After 1830, the distillery no longer utilised corn in their distilling process, although the

distillery continued to distil from bere and bigg, with a yield of 4,540 gallons of malt

spirit for the year ending October 1831.53 Between August and October of the same

year the distillery produced 1,022 gallons of wash a week, yielding an average of

105 gallons of spirit.54 The output of the distillery fell to 3,829 gallons of spirt for the

year ending October 1832.55 In 1833, the distillery’s final year of production, the

volume of spirit produced was 3,010 gallons, with the license passing from James

Smith to his wife Elizabeth half way through the year.56

45 Ibid. 46 NRS E581/4/50. 47 Ibid. 48 Account of Number of Gallons of Wash distilled from Malt, and Proof Spirits made from Malt, in

Scotland and Ireland, 1826-7. House of Commons Papers, 18(561), p. 5, 8. 49 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-3, p. 6. 50 NRS E581/6/50: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 7-8, 1828-1829. 51 NRS E581/7/48-51: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 1-8, 1829-1830. 52 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-31. 53 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 54 NRS E581/9/90. 55 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 56 Ibid.

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Cabrach

The Cabrach distillery commenced production in 1826, with James Taylor listed as

the distiller.57 Outputs for the year ending October 1827 reveal that 5,322 gallons of

wash were made, which was distilled into 482 gallons of malt spirits.58 From 1827 to

1829, The Cabrach distillery began distilling spirits from corn wash and stopped the

production of malt whisky. This legal venture fermented 35,088 gallons of corn wash

between October 1827 and October 1828, of which 3,402 gallons of spirits were

distilled.59 This figure rose to 50,542 gallons of corn wash and 5,044 gallons of spirit

from 1828 to 1829.60 The distillery re-commenced malt distilling in 1829, when 5,131

gallons of whisky were distilled from 3,240 bushels of malt produced from bere and

bigg during that year.61 On average, the legal still was distilling 110 gallons of malt

whisky a week from 70 bushels.62 The distillery continued to produce spirits from

corn wash, with an output of 53,484 gallons of wash and 5,196 gallons of spirit

between October 1829 and October 1830.63 After 1830 however, the use of corn

wash in Cabrach distilling ceased. Nonetheless, the distillery continued to produce

malt spirits, distilling 6,169 gallons from October 1830 to October 1831.64 Between

October 1831 and October 1832, the license was taken over by John Taylor, and the

distillery’s annual output fell slightly to 5,781 gallons.65 This annual output rose

slightly to 5,816 gallons for the following year.66 For the half year ending April 1834,

the volume of spirits produced stood at 3,179 gallons of malt spirits.67 Unfortunately,

official records become rather vague after this date and very little is documented

regarding the actions of individual distillers until 1851. However, it is documented in

the Statistical Account that the distillery was still operational in 1842, and it is stated

that the distillery, along with the still at Tomnaven, was producing 10,000 gallons of

57 Account of Number of Gallons of Wash distilled from Malt, and Proof Spirits made from Malt, in

Scotland and Ireland, 1826-7, p. 5, 8. 58 Ibid. 59 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-31, p. 6. 60 Ibid. 61 NRS E581/7/48-51. 62 Ibid. 63 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-31p. 6. 64 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid. 67 Ibid.

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spirit from malt.68 From this it can be inferred that the annual output of the Cabrach

distillery did not drastically change in the lead up to the 1840s, from the 5,000

gallons it was distilling in 1833. There is no record of the Cabrach distillery in the

Return of Licensed Distillers in England, Scotland and Ireland: 1851, therefore the

distillery closed its doors at some point between 1842 and 1851.69

Tomnaven

Tomanven began operations in 1828, under the ownership of James Robertson.70

The distillery originally produced whisky from corn wash, with an output of 3,291

gallons of spirit from 33,103 gallons of wash, between October 1828 to October

1829.71 The distillery continued to produce corn whisky the following year gradually

increasing output to 4,762 gallons from 47,269 gallons of wash.72 From January

1829, this legal still was also producing malt spirits, with a small output of 3,812

gallons from 2,346 bushels of malt, over the course of the year.73 On average, the

still was outputting 73 gallons of malt whisky per week, using 45 bushels of malt

made from bere and bigg only.74 After 1830, the distillery ceased corn whisky

production, and focused solely on the production of spirits from malt. Between

October 1830 and October 1831, the annual spirits produced amounted to 5,200

gallons.75 Tomnaven was producing on average 1,022 gallons of wash per week,

giving a return of 110 gallons of spirit, during this period.76 Malt whisky production

rose the following year to an annual output of 6,108 gallons.77 Between October

1832 and October 1833, the productivity of the distillery again increased, giving an

annual output of 6,356 gallons. 78 For the half year ending April 1834, output

remained steady, with 3,100 gallons of malt whisky being distilled.79 Like The

68 Cabrach, County of Banff, New Statistical Account of 1834-1845, p. 198 69Return of Licensed Distillers in England, Scotland and Ireland, 1851. House of Commons Papers,

53(386), p. 3 70 Return of Quantity of Corn Wash distilled by each Distiller and Spirits produced, 1827-31, p. 6. 71 Ibid. 72 Ibid. 73 NRS E581/7/48-51. 74 Ibid. 75 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 76 NRS E581/9/90. 77 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 78 Ibid. 79 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102.

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Cabrach distillery, Tomnaven ceased operations at some point between 1842 and

1851.

2.2 Ownership Status and Management

The Cabrach distilleries were operating in the style of small farm distilleries, seen

throughout Highland areas during the early part of the 19th century, as demonstrated

by the Output Records. These small stills were set up in order to take advantage of

the reduction in the rate of excise duties from 1823, and challenge the whisky

monopoly enjoyed by illicit distillers. The legal Cabrach stills were set up by the

larger farmers in the area, and were situated at their farm steadings. Lesmurdie and

Tomnaven were two of the largest farms in the Lower Cabrach. Furthermore, the

Robertson’s at Tomnaven were considered the, ‘two most industrious men,’ in the

parish.80 Many of the new small distilleries set up throughout the Highlands during

the 1820s were established by larger famers, who had knowledge of illicit distilling or

employed people who had previously been involved in smuggling activities. There is

no written evidence confirming either Smith, Taylor or Robertson as known distillers

of unlicensed whisky; however they would have certainly been aware of it going on

throughout the Cabrach. Furthermore, illicit bothies were scattered throughout the

lands of Lesmurdie, the remains of which could still be seen in the early 20th

century.81 Many of the tenants and cotters who were engaged in illicit distilling

emigrated to America and Jamaica around 1827.82 Therefore, if any of them were

integrated into the small legal distilling economy of the Cabrach, it was a very limited

number.

Initially the output of these legal Cabrach stills was small. In 1826, a year after its

establishment, Buck/Blackmiddens was the second smallest legal distillery in terms

of output in the Huntly Collection District.83 At this time Glendronach distillery, near

Huntly, was producing 10 times the volume of whisky distilled at

80 NRS GD44/39/8/1. 81 Aberdeen Journal, Friday 11 January 1901. 82Poor Law Enquiry (Scotland) Part II, containing minutes of evidence taken in the synods of Ross,

Argyll, Shetland, Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness, Gleeneg, Moray, Aberdeen, 1844. Command Papers, p. 694 83 NRS E581/4/50.

25

Buck/Blackmiddens.84 Although the output of spirits increased gradually throughout

the 1820s and 1830s, the capacity of the three legal distilleries in the parish was

amongst the smallest in the Elgin Distillery Collection.85 Despite this relatively small

output, the Cabrach licensed ventures produced whisky for 5-6 days a week, all year

round, although production was reduced in the summer months.86 The likely cause

of this was the difficulty in obtaining adequate supplies of grain and peat during this

time. Traditionally peat was cut in April and May and would not be ready for burning

until the autumn months.87

A principle distillery manager was employed at each of the three Cabrach distilleries.

Between January 1828 and May 1830, William McKenzie was recorded as the

principle manager of the Buck/Blackmiddens distillery.88 From May 1830, he was

replaced by Alexander Gibson, who held the post until 1832.89 William McKenzie

took up the position of principle manager of The Cabrach distillery for periods

throughout 1830 and 1831.90 Prior to this, John Farquhaison was the distillery

manager of The Cabrach.91 In regards to Tomnaven, Alexander Robertson was

listed as distillery manager intermittently throughout the 1820s and 30s,92 and as late

as 1841 he stated his occupation as distiller.93 Interestingly, between July and

August 1830, four separate distillery managers were named for The Cabrach

distillery, including Alexander Robertson.94 This suggests that there was a degree of

co-operation between the legal ventures. The fact that the same persons were

employed in more than one Cabrach distillery, hints at some form of communal

distilling practise, with expertise and knowledge being exchanged between the legal

stills in the Cabrach. This link is further highlighted by the marriage of James

Robertson, Jnr (son of James Robertson, distiller at Tomnaven), to Margaret Taylor,

84 Ibid. 85 NRS E581/7/48-51. 86 Ibid. 87 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 24 88 NRS E581/6/50 and NRS E581/8/47. 89 NRS E581/6/50 and NRSE581/9/90. 90 NRS E581/9/88: Distillery Discharge Vouchers: Elgin collection: Huntly: rounds 1-2, 1831-1832. 91 NRS E581/6/50. 92 NRS E581/7/48 and NRS E581/8/48. 93 Census, 1841, Scotland, Cabrach, Aberdeenshire. 94 NRS E581/8/48.

26

daughter of James Taylor, farmer and distiller at Lesmurdie.95 Clearly there was a

link between the two families which likely extended to legal distilling practices.

Following the introduction of the 1823 Excise Act, every distillery was assigned at

least one Excise Officer who was provided onsite accommodation. Various Excise

men were stationed at the three licensed Cabrach distilleries. Alexander Anderson

was stationed at the distillery located at Blackmiddens farm in 1830; for The Cabrach

distillery, Alexander Gordon was the officer of the Excise in 1833; and Alexander

Fraser carried out his duties at Tomnaven in 1843.96 The role of the Excise Officers

was to prevent fraud at legal distilleries by ensuring that the correct amount of duty

was being paid on the volume of spirits distilled. The duty charged at the three

Cabrach distilleries in 1833 was, £1,016 10s at Tomnaven, £913 10s at Cabrach,

and £695 at Buck/Blackmiddens. 97 Excise men were also responsible for the

regulation of malt drawback. This rebate of duty, set at 1s 5d per gallons of spirits,

was introduced in 1823 to stimulate the production of legal malt whisky.98 This

allowed distillers to reclaim a proportion of their duty to compensate for the additional

cost of using malt grain only in their whiskies. All three Cabrach legal stills were

producing malt spirits and therefore received a duty rebate. From January 1829 to

January 1830, this reimbursement was £189 for Buck/Blackmiddens, £201 for

Tomnaven, and £282 for Cabrach.99 This duty rebate made it attractive to produce

malt whisky, rather than grain or corn spirits, and explains why the distilling from

malted bere and bigg was favoured to the detriment of corn in Cabrach distilling after

1830.

The Excise Officers were often diligent in the exercise of the duty as James

Robertson found to cost in 1837, when he was fined £150 for breaching excise

regulations. 100 However, the Excise men were not always so well behaved

95 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 96 Aberdeen City Archives (ACA) As/Acom/1/14/116: Aberdeenshire Commissioners of Supply:

Assessed Tax Report 1830-31, p.9; NRS CH2/45/2: Cabrach Kirk Session: Minutes 1757-1862. 97 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Sixth Report (Tobacco and Foreign Spirits); Seventh

Report (British Spirits, Part I.), pp. 230-231. 98 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 70. 99 NRS E581/7/48-51. 100 Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, 1847. Volume 59, p. 8

27

themselves. In 1834, Betty McLean was brought before the Cabrach Kirk Session,

‘confessing herself with child in fornication and accusing Alexander Gordon, Officer

of the Excise, lately residing … at Mains of Lesmurdie in the Parish of Cabrach as

father of her child.’101 Furthermore, the Kirk Session reported in 1843:

that on Thursday the twelfth of January current Margaret Taylor wife of James

Robertson Distiller at Nether Tomnaven in the Parish and County of Banff had

called on him (the minister) representing a female child apparently about ten

months old had been exposed and abandoned there on a bundle of straw at

the door of a house occupied by Alexander Fraser Officer of Excise by the

mother of a woman from the Parish of Aberdour named Anne Inkson …102

Clearly Excise officials were well integrated into the Cabrach community.

Furthermore, this account infers that the Tomnaven distillery was operating in 1843.

This is the last written primary reference regarding legal distilling in the Cabrach, as

by 1851 the Tomanven and Cabrach legal stills had ceased production, following

Buck/Blackmiddens closure in 1833.

3. The Conversion of Cabrach Farms into Legal Distilleries

There were four models for establishing farm distilleries after the excise laws of

1823. The first was that the smuggler would set up a licensed distillery. John

Anderson, collector of excise for the Elgin Collection District, which covered the

Cabrach, stated as early as 1825 that he knew of former illicit distillers who were

succeeding with legal stills.103 The second was the tenant farmer who distilled with

the malt produced on the farm, and recycled the draff into the farm. The third was the

collective, which pooled resources to purchase equipment, and took turns to make

whisky from their own grain. This appears to have been the case with the distillers of

Lesmurdie/Cabrach at least some of the time.104 John Anderson remarked that by

101 NRS CH2/45/2: Cabrach Kirk Session: Minutes 1757-1862 102 NRS CH2/45/2. 103 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Twelfth

Report (Excise, Scotland), 1825, House of Commons Papers, 14(390), p. 565. 104 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries). 1823. House of Commons Papers. 253(405), p. 105. Distilleries at Ardtallanaig

and Fettercairn reveal how this may have worked in practise.

28

congregating in groups of three, four or five, previously illicit distillers could work

together on a legal footing.105 And the fourth was the landowner who had previously

sold his grain to illicit distillers. The 1823 licensing acts presented commercial

potential to establish a business which would also provide a market for the grain

previously directed to the smugglers. These models were not exclusive, however.

Fettercairn distillery, for example, was owned exclusively by Thomas Shand, but

operated by a collective of farmers.106

In the Cabrach, the distilleries were established in premises concurrently managed

as farms by tenant farmers. The Robertsons at Tomnaven had only recently taken

on the lease of the whole farm of Tomnaven (Upper and Nether) when they

commenced licensed distilling, and thus their acquisition of additional buildings

precluded the need to build a purpose-built distillery.107 The distillery was certainly

established as a means to dispose of grain, as Taylor of Boghead's diary tells us of

the industrious James Robertson sowing bere on the Craigies.

The establishment of legal stills did not come without complications, as communities

which had previously encouraged smuggling made the transition to legal enterprise.

The distillery at Corgarff Castle was burned down by illicit distillers. Two licensed

distilleries in Grantown ceased production due to threats from illicit distillers.108 In

Glenlivet, George Smith at Upper Drumin famously defended himself against hostile

neighbours who threatened to burn down his distillery. 109 Markets which had

previously imported illicit whisky from areas like the Cabrach established distilleries

of their own to compete with the newly licensed stills. In Brechin, an important outlet

for smuggled whisky, two distilleries were established, Glencadam and North Port,

105 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Twelfth

Report (Excise, Scotland), House of Commons Papers, p. 566. 106 Aberdeen University Library (AUL) MS3652/3/20: Andrew Halliday to William Shand, Hampton

Court, 26 March 1831. 107 Indeed, the Robertson family was identified as industrious and entrepreneurial by the Duke of

Gordon’s factor, explaining precisely why the leases of Upper and Nether Tomnaven were merged.

NRS GD44/39/8/1: copy contents and valuation of the Cabrach, July 1811. 108 ibid. 109 Iain F. Russell, ‘Smith family (per. 1824–1975)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford

University Press, 2004; [online edn,], Jan 2010, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/72830,

accessed 26 Feb 2017

29

which produced over 70,000 gallons of whisky annually.110 In the Cabrach it was

estimated that up to eighty people whose livelihoods had depended on the illicit

whisky trade left the parish, many emigrating overseas.111

4. Description of the Distilleries and the Whisky Making Process

In Scotch Missed Brian Townsend asserts that ‘Most new distilleries were small, two-

stilled affairs resembling farmyard outbuildings - indeed many of them were exactly

that’.112 The traditional malt whisky distillery was usually planned around a court.

Single storey warehouses, maltings and kilns, with their distinctive pagoda chimneys,

were all regular features of distilleries.113 The distilleries identified in the course of

this research - Cabrach at Lesmurdie, Buck at Black Middens, and Tomnaven, all

incorporated central water wheels which drove a mill within the building for bruising

the malt. The water wheel was essentially the distillery engine which could also

power pumps which would move wort, wash and brewing liquor.

The presence of water-powered mills also confirms the presence of water, which is

of course vital to a distillery. At Tomnaven, water has been channeled from a source

further up the hill to the distillery building. At Blackmiddens, an underground water

source is similarly channeled. At Lesmurdie, the water wheel sits in the Deveron

burn that runs alongside the distillery. It must be assumed that the water that drove

the mills also supplied the distilleries with both brewing liquor and water for

cooling/condensing and also for cleaning. It might be noted here that the apparent

lack of such a water supply at Inverharroch distinguishes it from the Cabrach

distilleries and accordingly would seem to confirm that distilling on a significant scale

did not take place there.

110 David Black, History of Brechin to 1864 (Edinburgh, 1867), p 273. 111 Poor Law Enquiry (Scotland) Part II, containing minutes of evidence taken in the synods of Ross,

Argyll, Shetland, Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness, Gleeneg, Moray, Aberdeen, 1844, Command Papers, p. 695 112 Brian Townsend, Scotch Missed: The Lost Distilleries of Scotland, (Neil Wilson Publishing, 1993),

p. 38. 113 Donald Scott, ‘A Malt Whisky Distillery’, (Unpublished Architecture Diploma thesis, Duncan of

Jordanstone College, 1965).

30

Figure 6: Engine Room at Blackmiddens Distillery © The Cabrach Trust

A detailed description of a small distillery at Corgarff Castle was made following a

fire, and it provides a good representation of what a farm distillery would have looked

like. This distillery, less than thirty miles from the Cabrach, was attached to the

distillery-owner’s house. It was one storey high, built of stone and lime, and roofed

with thatch. There was a stream located nearby, which supplied the distillery and its

well with water. Corgarff distillery, despite its size, had three stills. Two wash stills

were sixty imperial gallons apiece; the spirit still was forty gallons capacity. The

mash tun was made of wood, and though its size has not been recorded it is most

likely that a mash would be designed to charge either one or both wash stills (i.e. 60

or 120 gallons). There were two chargers (jack backs to charge the wash stills); two

receivers, to collect low wines and spirits respectively, and there was also a cooler,

which cooled the wash prior to fermentation. The chargers, receivers and cooler

were all made of wood; black birch was known to be used for these vessels and

utensils, as well as for washbacks, mash tuns and malt steeps.114

114 The National Archives (TNA) CUST 119/434: Illicit Distilling in Aberdeenshire, Examination of

James McHardy, Farmer and distiller at Corgarff Castle, 2 August 1826; NRS GD46/13/120/3: report

on the state of the Stornaway distillery, Nov. 1826.

31

Figure 7: AUL MS 3470-21-53 © Aberdeen University Library Special Collections

Low wines stills distilled wash of a gravity of approximately 1.050. Wash was fed

from the jack back to a charging back. The charging back was locked, and held the

exact volume of wash which was to be distilled.115 Thus, the volumes of the mash-

tun and wash did not have to directly accord with the still size. The Cabrach

distilleries were producing approximately 1000 imperial gallons of wash from

approximately 60 bushels of malt each week. Under the 1823 Excise Act concurrent

brewing and distilling was not permitted, a clause that was not rescinded until 1944,

and thus applied for the lifespan of the Cabrach distilleries. It is almost certain, then,

that the mash-tun could produce 500 gallons of wort per batch, and thus there would

have been two washbacks of a similar size. A wash charger would have fed the stills

on days when brewing was not taking place.

Figure 8: Sir David Wilkie A Highland Whisky Still at Lochgilphead 1819 © Private Collection

Bridgeman Images

115 AUL MS3470/21/53: Papers of the Fraser Family of Castle Fraser and Inverlochy; Drawing and

notes regarding the design of a still for distilling liquor.

32

John Anderson reported that the spirit stills of the distilleries in the Elgin collection

district, which included those of the Cabrach, ranged from 120 to 200 imperial

gallons, with the low wines stills proportionately larger.116 Standard practice was (and

remains) spirit still as approximately 2/3 volume of wash still; so a 200 gallons wash

still and 120 gallons spirit still would have been appropriate sizes. They would have

been situated upon stone blockwork with a furnace beneath which was fired by peat.

During distillation, the alcohol vapours would pass into the worm and condense into

the low wines which would be collected from the worm end into a wooden cask low

wines receiver. The low wines would then be charged into the spirit still for distillation

into spirit of approximately 11 per cent over proof. Often the swan neck of the stills

would exit the building and the worm tub would be on the outside of the distillery,

filled with cold water. The apparatus that made up a distillery of this humble size

would cost approximately £200.117 The famous painting of Lochgilphead distillery by

Sir David Wilkie shows the interior of a farm still of similar size to the Cabrach

Distilleries.118

The description of Corgarff distillery makes mention of a malt barn and kiln. What is

striking, and a common feature of the three Cabrach distilleries, is the apparent

absence of an obvious kiln. The Adam Mackie diaries show that malt was being

transmitted from Mackie back to the Cabrach via smugglers. We know that the

licenced Cabrach distillers continued the practice of importing victual. Mackie’s diary

also discusses his excise returns in which he stated that he steeped and germinated

his barley in his own barns but that he dried it in the public kiln in Fyvie.119 As

detailed above, in the Cabrach an insufficient amount of barley was grown to supply

the three legal stills, and barley/bere/bigg was imported. But, of the grain that was

grown in the Cabrach, malting may have been undertaken on individual

farms/distilleries but kilning took place at a communal kiln, perhaps Reekimlane and

116 Twelfth report of the Commissioners of Inquiry, p. 565. 117 Twelfth report of the Commissioners of Inquiry, p. 567; TNA CUST 119/434; Fifth report of the

commissioners of inquiry into the collection and management of the revenue arising in Ireland; &c.

Distilleries. 1823, p. 158; NRS GD44/26/6/3:Fort William and Maryburgh: Papers relating to farm of

Inch and to the distillery and meal mill at Inverlochy 1807-1827. 118 Sir David Wilkie, ‘The Highland Whisky Still at Lochgilphead’ (1819) oil on panel. Private

collection. Reproduction under licence, see: https://www.bridgemanimages.com/ 119 William Mackie and David Stevenson (eds), The Diary of a Canny Man, 1818-28. Adam Mackie,

Farmer, Merchant and Innkeeper in Fyvie (Aberdeen: University Press, 1991), pp. 66-7.

33

Corinacy. Plans of similarly sized distilleries (e.g. Craigend and Kepp, both in

Stirlingshire) also show maltings and kilns across a number of buildings.120 Records

relating to the Cabrach distilleries do not mention kilns or maltings, and the premises

viewed do not have the distinctive pagoda roofs. The buildings at Blackmiddens are

in a varied state of repair. Some do not have a roof, and the buildings marked on the

map as the ‘distillery’ have only foundations remaining. So it is impossible to say with

certainty that malting took place on the premises. However, it is extremely likely

considering the extent of the premises; distilleries were a compound of buildings,

with engine room, maltings, mill, kiln and still house all within the network, often

around the courtyard. Tomnaven, Blackmiddens and Lesmurdie were all situated by

running water for powering the water wheels.

Figure 9: NRS RHP 80866-1 Plan of Craigend Farm, © National Records of Scotland

The excise law certainly shaped the fabric of distilleries. Most pertinently, the still

size had to be a minimum of 40 gallons. All equipment had to be clearly marked to

indicate its use and content and all the pipework within distilleries had to be painted

certain colours to indicate to the Excise men the flow of liquids. Water pipes were

white; Wort pipework was red; feints were carried in blue pipes and spirits were

120 NRS RHP80866/1: Plan of Craigend Distillery, 1790; Dundee City Archives, GD/Wh/75/4: Plan of

Kepp Distillery, 1827.

34

carried in black pipes. Distilleries were required to have a spirit safe, under an excise

lock and key, which prevented the distiller from having access to the spirits running

off the still but to nevertheless be able to conduct his work. Duty was charged per

gallon of proof spirits and one of the factors behind the success of the legislation was

the adoption of the Sykes hydrometer and tables which were the declared standard

acceptable to the Excise service. The use of instruments to test the strength of wash

also provided a means of control to ensure that malt on which rebate had been paid

could not be diverted into illicit manufacture of whisky.121

The equipment that made up the distilleries was not always sourced locally. Henry

Armstrong of Edinburgh specialised in fitting out distilleries and supplied clients in

Prestonpans, Beauly and Stornoway, so the reach of his business was national.122

Armstrong supplied the copper utensils to the Beauly distillery for £647 for two stills,

worms, copper pumps, boiler and machinery and sundry other items. The

coppersmith charged almost £2000 to the Stornoway distillery, which was built on a

much grander scale and with significant capital investment (but perhaps less

strategic management). The utensils at Corgarff distillery, which were closer in size

to those that would have been in place at the Cabrach distilleries, were valued at

£200 when the distillery burned down in 1826.123 The interesting thing to note is the

uplift in value of the Corgarff stills, which ranged in size from forty to sixty gallons,

compared to illicit stills of approximately the same volume. Hugh Munro of Teaninich

distillery gave evidence that illicit stills ‘vary from forty up to seventy gallons’ and that

they would cost ‘six, eight or ten pounds’.124 Of course, when illicit stills were likely to

be confiscated it made sense for them to be inexpensive, whereas as the coppers in

legal distilleries were key assets, which had to be both efficient and durable. A

consequence of this was that legal stills were made from superior metals. ‘The evils

of a defective construction are increased a hundred-fold, when, as is frequently the

case, the still is made of tin and the worm of tin or lead … a portion of the metal is

121 Perth and Kinross Council Archives, MS14/205: Ian Butterfield, ‘A Perthshire Whisky Trail’, pp.17-

18; Donald Scott, ‘A Malt Whisky Distillery’. 122 NRS, CS96/208: Beauly Distillery Company Journal, 1824-1827; NRS GD46/13/118: J A Stewart

Mackenzie to Henry Armstrong coppersmith Edinburgh, 11 Nov. 1825. 123 TNA CUST 119/434: Illicit Distilling in Aberdeenshire 124 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries), p. 158.

35

dissolved, and poisonous metallic salts are produced, which must be injurious to the

drinker’.125

5. Raw Materials Historically Used in Mashing

The raw material used for mashing in the legal Cabrach stills was predominantly

bere or bigg. Bere/bigg is a strain of four rowed barley, well suited to harsh, wet

climates, and was therefore grown throughout Highland areas of Scotland in the

1800s. This grain is still cultivated on Orkney and in recent years The Arran Distillery

and Bruichladdich distillery have produced whiskies using this grain in collaboration

with the Agronomy Institute of Orkney College, University of Highlands and

Islands.126 In 1799, Highland distillers described the crop as, ‘much inferior quality to

the Grain produced in the Lowlands’127 However, in relation to mashing it was

argued that Lowland barley and Highland bere produced a malt of similar quality in

the 1830s.128 Bere/bigg was predominately used by Highland distillers as it was

grown locally, and high-quality barley was expensive to import for Lowland regions.

Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, bere/bigg was the main crop used by the other

legal stills in the Elgin Collection District.129

The lands of the Cabrach were notoriously unsuited to arable farming, and the

cultivation of grain in the 19th century was carried out in poor quality soil, under

uncertain conditions, using limited farming methods. In the early 1800s it was stated

that the Cabrach was, ‘better suited for pasture, than cultivation, the mode of which

has not varied for a century. It produces however, as much barley and oats as

serves the inhabitants.’130 Although unsuited to crop production, it is suggested that

125 Ian MacDonald, quoted in Gavin D. Smith, The Secret Still: Scotland’s Clandestine Whisky

Makers (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2002), p. 43. 126 https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/media/news-archive/2012/independent-distillery-brings-back-bere-barley;

https://www.bruichladdich.com/article/our-alliance-uhi-helps-conserve-bere-barley (Accessed 25

February 2017). 127 Reports from Committees of the House of Commons Which Have Been Printed by Order of the

House: And are Not Inserted in the Journals 1715-1801, House of Commons Papers, 11, p. 501 128 Commissioners of Inquiry into the Excise Establishment and into the Management and Collection

of the Excise Revenue, 1835, Command Papers. Volume 13, p. 38 129 NRS E581/7/48-51. 130 Encyclopaedia perthensis, or, Universal dictionary of the arts, sciences, literature, etc.: intended to

supersede the use of other books of reference, Volume 4, (1816), p. 547

36

the farm units in the Cabrach were able to meet the basic needs of the parish. No

doubt some of this locally grown bere/bigg would have been used in legal distilling

practices. It is recorded in John Taylor’s diary from April 1836, that, ‘James

Robertson, Sen., Tomnaven, commenced sowing bere this day upon the

Craigies.’131 From this primary source, it is clear that bere was being grown on the

farmland of Tomnaven, which was also home to one of the legal Cabrach distilleries.

It is highly probable that this grain was being converted to whisky at their on-site

licensed still. In addition to distilling whisky from bere/bigg, Cabrach distillers used

corn in their mashes. There is evidence that Blackmiddens Farm was growing this

grain, as a corn field is clearly marked on the farm plan from 1827. Situated a short

distance from the distillery building, there is little doubt that the corn cultivated on site

would have been used in whisky production. The use of locally grown grain would

have reduced production costs for the small, newly emerging Cabrach stills in the

1820s. Furthermore, the production of draff in the distilling process would have

provided a high-quality feedstuff for cattle and other livestock, easing the reliance on

bere/bigg for this purpose.

Although bere and corn were being grown on the site of the Cabrach farm distilleries,

and the parish as a whole was able to fulfil the basic needs of the community, it is

unlikely that the local grain cultivation would have been able to meet the demands of

three operating distilleries, producing throughout the year. Each distillery was

consuming on average, 60-80 bushels of bere/bigg per week,132 and it is highly

improbable that the Cabrach, with its basic agricultural methods and poor, wet soil

would have been able to meet this requirement. At the height of illicit production in

the Cabrach, unlicensed distillers throughout the parish were often supplied with

grain from the more fertile regions of Aberdeenshire. It is clear that this practice was

widespread among illicit distillers, as stated in the evidence of James Gordon, who

was examined before the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry in 1823:

They bring it from a distance in Aberdeenshire. I have seen for several years

131 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 132 NRS E581/7/48-51. One bushel is equivalent to 25.4kg (therefore 60 bushesls = 1524kg and 80

bushels = 2032kg) cf. https://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/about-whisky/history

37

past barley carrying up in the carts from lower parts of Aberdeenshire; and a

friend of mine tells me that he has reason to believe that from his

considerable estate, which is much lower down than my property, the barley

has been conveyed to our part of the country regularly for the two or three last

seasons; and I have met carts of it, large carts frequently, with barley, going to

the distilleries, as I believed.133

Gordon goes on to suggest that this transportation of grain from southern district was

chiefly carried out in the Cabrach, as the parish had, ‘a very cold chilly climate, and

the crops are generally touched by frost, and do not malt freely, in consequence of

this they find it necessary to buy from the lower country round.’134 He also states

that the unlicensed distillers purchased a small amount of high-quality Lowland

barley.135 Furthermore, it is known that some northern smugglers preferred to distil

with, ‘the best English barley that can be had at almost any price.’136 Nonetheless,

access to this grain was often limited and the difficulty of transport made it highly

expensive, therefore only available to the more successful illicit distillers. Generally,

illicit Cabrach producers preferred to take grain from:

‘the nearest place where they can purchase it, first, because the transport is a

heavy matter for them, and in the second place … they must do it in a very

open style, and it immediately attracts the notice of the exciseman, and it is

talked of that such a man has been buying so many bolls.137

This point is backed up by the assertion that Cabrach illicit distillers in the early part

of the 19th century regularly purchased barley (bere) from Auchleven, near Inch,

around 20 miles from the Cabrach.138 The grain was transported by Auchleven

tenants to the Cabrach, setting off at four in the morning with two carts loaded with

133 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries), p. 177 134 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries), p. 177-78 135 Ibid. 136 AUL MS 3470/6/1/635/2: John Young to Roderick Mackenzie, Inverness, 24 March 1803. 137 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries), p. 178. 138 David Kerr Cameron, Willie Gavin, Crofter Man: A Portrait of a Vanished Life (Birlinn, Edinburgh,

2008), p. 24.

38

barley.139 They would meet the Cabrach distillers near the Cabrach parish boundary

and transfer the grain into panniers attached to ponies, each capable of carrying 1 or

2 bushels.140

Due to the difficulty of arable farming in the Cabrach, it is highly likely that the trade

of grain from neighbouring Aberdeenshire farmers to Cabrach distillers continued in

the heydays of legal production, following the decline of illicit activities. The lack of

availability of bere/bigg, within the parish would have resulted in legal Cabrach

distillers bringing in grain from further afield. Taylor, writing 60 years after the

closure of the legal stills, alludes to this practice, suggesting that the cost of

importing barley from outside the parish contributed to the demise of legal Cabrach

production.141 Clearly, in addition to using bere/bigg and corn grown in the parish,

legal distillers were following the example set by their illicit predecessors and

importing grain for distilling from the fertile lands of neighbouring Aberdeenshire.

6. Transportation and Storage of Spirit

Whisky distilled in the early 19th century was generally not aged. Duty was paid on

proof gallons produced – there was no incentive to watch it mature and evaporate.

Whisky was stored in cask as it was a means of transporting the goods to market.

Cask size was usually ten-gallon wooden barrels, known as an anker. New

distilleries were known to source brand new casks of various sizes from local

coopers.142 Naturally, casks were re-used, so spirit was transported in the vessel and

transferred to another vessel at its destination, and the empty casks were returned to

the still. 143 Cabrach whisky produced legally at Blackmiddens, Lesmurdie and

Tomnaven was not warehoused under bond, and must therefore have been sold

without significant maturation prior to reaching the retailer, who may have taken

some responsibility for conditioning. Adam Mackie, merchant in Fyvie, remarked how

139 Cameron, Willie Gavin, Crofter Man: A Portrait of a Vanished Lifestyle, p. 24 140 Ibid. 141 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 142 NRS GD46/13/121/2: Letters from Messrs McLeod, Stornoway, relating to casks for Stornoway

distillery, 1827. 143 J.G. Fyfe (ed.), Scottish Diaries and Memoirs, 1746-1843 (Eneas MacKay, Stirling, 1942), p. 522-

3.

39

he transferred ill-tasting whisky to a fresh barrel so that it might ‘correct’ itself.

Mackie stored whisky in ankers in the back of his shop (and, in the case of illicit

whisky, in sundry discreet hiding places such as peat stacks and walls). In his shop

he had a much larger barrel, some 100 gallons, which was routinely topped up from

smaller casks as Mackie acquired them. Accordingly, Mackie’s spirit cask would

have contained a solera-style blend. Whisky was dispensed from the cask.

Customers would arrive with a receptacle which would be filled accordingly.144

Whisky in the earlier 19th century was primarily sold locally, and in cask. Retailers

would take responsibility for the whisky’s readiness for sale. Stock was managed

and the maturation properties of wood were known. Similarly, a co-operative of

distillers at Fettercairn Distillery, in 1840, complained against the with-holding of

whisky stocks for maturation. By arguing that they were unable to satisfy their local

market, they imply that the local whisky of Angus was served fresh, and it was the

distillery owner, Thomas Shand, who had identified a market for whisky in London,

who insisted the flavour of the whisky was more acceptable when aged.145

7. Final Consumption of Legal Cabrach Whisky

The diary of Adam Mackie provides critical information regarding the market for illicit

Cabrach whisky, detailing how the unlicensed spirit was being distributed over a

wide geographical area. From this source and the evidence of John Gordon given in

1823 it is understood that illicit Cabrach whisky was being sold and consumed in the

towns of Fyvie, Auchterless, Aberdeen, Huntly, Banff, and Montrose.146 It can be

reasoned that there was a similar market for licensed Cabrach whisky. Legal

Cabrach whisky, like its illicit forerunner, was held in the highest regard by whisky

sellers and drinkers in the 1820s and 1830s. In Aberdeen in 1829, licensed Cabrach

whisky was selling for 10s. 6d. per gallon.147 This price was only matched by

Glenlivet whisky. Spirits advertised as, ‘Fine Malt Whisky,’ were being sold at the

144 AUL MS3347 Adam Mackie Diaries, passim. 145 AUL MS3652/3/20: Andrew Halliday to William Shand, Hampton Court, 26 March 1831. 146 AUL MS3347 and Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and

Great Britain Fifth Report (Distilleries), p. 176. 147 Aberdeen Press and Journal, Wednesday 04 November 1829.

40

lesser sum of 8s. 6d. and 9s. per gallon at the same time.148 This substantial price

difference indicates that the whisky was of high quality, and would have been in

great demand throughout the North-east of Scotland. Certainly, Cabrach whisky had

earned a considerable reputation and could demand a greater price than other

Highland malt whiskies during this period. The legal Cabrach spirit was retailed by

several grocers and merchants throughout Aberdeen, including William Clark of 8

King Street, Charles Fyfe of 44 and 134 Union Street, and Richard Smith, whose

premises were located at 86 Head of Broad Street.149 It is likely that the whisky held

in these premises would have been sold and stored in a manner similar to the one

previously outlined in Adam Mackie’s Diary.

Cabrach whisky, illicit and legal, was also sold and consumed in inns and taverns. It

is documented that Cabrach spirits were retailed at Watty Reid’s Tavern, located

near the site of the old Poultry Market in Aberdeen.150 This drinking establishment

was often frequented by small tradesmen and soldiers.151 Over the fireplace, the

landlord had inscribed the rhyming advertisement:

Fine Devanha porter: gweed strong ale;

Real Cabrach whisky, as ever bore the bell.

Watty’s liquor’s gweed;

Gin ye hae nae money, Watty has nae trust.152

Legal Cabrach whisky was sold to innkeepers, merchants, and other customers

through spirit agents. In 1834, John Taylor of The Cabrach distillery took out an

advertisement in the Aberdeen Press and Journal declaring that he had appointed

John Begg as the agent for the sale of his spirit, and order were to be transmitted

through him.153

148 Ibid. 149 Aberdeen Press and Journal, Wednesday 04 November 1829; Aberdeen Press and Journal,

Wednesday 28 October 1835; Aberdeen Press and Journal, Wednesday 18 October 1826. 150 Robert Kempt, Convivial Caledonia, Inns and Taverns of Scotland, and Some Famous People

Who Have Frequented Them (Chapman and Hall, London, 1893), p. 23. 151 Kempt, Convivial Caledonia, Inns and Taverns of Scotland, and Some Famous People Who Have

Frequented Them, p.23. 152 Ibid. 153 Aberdeen Press and Journal, Wednesday 12 March 1834.

41

Figure 10 Advertisement for Cabrach Whisky in Aberdeen Press and Journal, 1834, © The British

Newspaper Archive

Not all Cabrach spirit was sold to the wider market, as some of the produce

remained in the parish for local consumption. In evidence given by Alexander

Beattie in the case of the conception of an illegitimate child, recorded in Kirk Session

records, he states that, ‘at Buck … Mary Stewart gave them a dram soon after they

went into the house … and that they saw a bottle of whisky lying at the door.’154

Furthermore, there was an inn at the Kirkton of Cabrach throughout the 1830s run by

John Cockburn, which would have undoubtedly sold locally distilled whisky.155

It is apparent that legal Cabrach whisky was renowned throughout the North-east of

Scotland in the 1830s and commanded a high price in the rapidly expanding urban

centre of Aberdeen. This coastal centre was the main market for Cabrach spirit, but

it was also sold and consumed throughout the region, following the trade pattern

established by previously traded illicit Cabrach whisky. Additionally, whisky

produced in the Cabrach was also consumed in the parish.

8. The Closure of the Licensed Cabrach Stills

By the late 1830s and early 1840s the consumption of spirits in Scotland, which was

90 per cent malt whisky, slumped from a peak of approximately 6,600,000 gallons in

1836, to just below 5,600,000 in 1843.156 This sharp decrease in whisky sales,

mirrored the general downturn in the Scottish economy. The major commercial

depression of 1841-42, adversely effected the demand for whisky throughout the

country. Prior to this there was widespread crop failures throughout the Highlands in

154 NRS CH2/45/2: Cabrach Kirk Session: Minutes 1757-1862. 155 Ibid. 156 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 88.

42

the latter stages of the 1830s. Poor weather was the main cause, and conditions in

the Cabrach were particularly bleak. In May 1838, John Taylor lamented that, ‘The

weather has had no precedent for badness. Snow has fallen almost every day since

the second week in January. Upon the first day of this month it was six inches deep

and continued to fall.’157 As a result of the widespread crop failures, the prices of

grain increased dramatically. The situation in the Cabrach was desperate as an

entire crop of the Upper Cabrach was rendered useless by the severe weather.158

The lack of bere/bigg available in the Cabrach would have adversely effected legal

whisky production in the parish. The distilleries would have increasingly relied on

purchasing grain from the lower counties, which would have significantly raised

production costs as the price of grain increased throughout northern areas of

Scotland due to its scarcity. Furthermore, the extreme weather resulted in the

Cabrach being cut off from other regions for extended periods. In March 1838, the

roads in the Cabrach were, ‘completely shut up,’ due to snow that had fallen for

eleven weeks.159 This would have prevented the import of vital grain into the parish

for use in the legal stills, in addition to hindering the transport of locally distilled

whisky to its main markets. This would have placed additional strain on the two

remaining Cabrach distilleries, at a time when the wider Scottish whisky industry was

struggling. Licensed stills were ceasing production throughout the country, and

many were placed on short-time working.160 In 1840, six distilleries went bankrupt in

the Highlands, and seven more followed in 1842.161 Furthermore, duty rates on

spirits were rising steadily: in 1830 distilleries were charged 2s. 10d. per gallon, by

1840 this sum had reached 3s. 10d per gallon.162 This would have further narrowed

the profit margins for the Cabrach distillers, at a time when production costs were

rising due to the high price of grain. The pressure was clearly building on small,

relatively new legal distillers, particularly in Highland areas.

157 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 158 Ibid. 159 Ibid. 160Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 88. 161 Ibid. 162 Duncan McLaren, The Rise and Progress of Whisky-drinking in Scotland and the Working of the

Public-houses (Scotland) Act (Scottish Temperance League, Glasgow,1858), p. 25.

43

Even in the boom period of the 1830s, many newly established legal ventures

ceased production, including Buck/Blackmiddes in 1833. Townsend argues that the

main reason behind the failure of the small Highland distillers during this decade was

the simple fact that there were too many distilleries, producing too much whisky,

flooding the market and making small scale production unviable.163 There was

certainly a high degree of competition facing legal Cabrach distillers as there were

thirty licensed distilleries in the Elgin collection area in the early 1830s.164 However,

the situation of Buck/Blackmiddens in the Upper Cabrach no doubt contributed to its

demise. This area's high vulnerability to crop failure and according dependency on

imports, compared unfavourably to the distilleries situated in the slightly more fertile

region of the Lower Cabrach. Black attributed the failure of small distilleries

throughout Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, including Buck/Blackmiddens, to, ‘men

rushing into the business who had not sufficient knowledge of it, nor capital enough

to carry it on.’165 The transfer of the distillery license from James Smith to his wife in

1833, does suggest that he found himself in financial difficulties around the same

time the distillery ceased production.

Economic conditions and poor harvests heightened the financial precariousness of

small Highland distilling ventures into the 1840s. Conditions facing distillers was not

aided by the reduction of their market in urban areas as a result of the growing

temperance and anti-spirit movements. These campaigns were advocated by

church leaders and social reformers who preached the evils of drink and the

perceived erosion of the morals of people throughout urban Scotland as a result of

excessive drinking. Many industrialists were also involved as they were growing

concerned about the harmful effects of drunkenness on productivity as more

technically advanced equipment was introduced.166 Spirits were especially targeted

as it was believed that they posed a greater risk to the physical and moral health of

the people in comparison to beer or ale. Aberdeen attracted a large temperance

following during this period. In 1838, the Aberdeen Total Abstinence Society (ATAS)

was formed. By 1841, the ATAS had over 10,000 members, which amounted to

163 Brian Townsend, Scotch Missed: The Lost Distilleries of Scotland, p. 23. 164 Coms. of Inquiry into Excise Establishment Seventh Report (British Spirits, Part II.), p. 102. 165 J. Black, ‘On the Agriculture of Aberdeen and Banff Shires’, in Transactions of the Highland and

Agricultural Society of Scotland, 3(4), (1871), p. 6. 166 Moss and Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky, p. 84.

44

around 24 per cent of the adult population of the town.167 Following on from the

success of the ATAS, the North of Scotland Temperance Union was established,

with the aim of spreading their anti-drink message across northern regions of

Scotland.168 By 1841, it had formed 63 affiliated societies, with a membership of

23,215.169 The success of the temperance movement in Aberdeen and the North-

east would have had a hugely detrimental impact on legal distilling in the Cabrach as

Aberdeen was the main market for their whisky. This market had reduced

significantly, as spirits became less popular and the number of licensed premises in

the town were reduced in order to meet the demands of the temperance reformers.

This loss of custom came at a time when the two remaining Cabrach distilleries were

already struggling with rising production costs, gain shortages, and increased duty

on whisky. Furthermore, the Cabrach distillers had to endure worsening transport

difficulties. This put them at a significant disadvantage to other distillers in the

Grampians who could readily convey their whisky to towns and other neighbouring

settlements. Turrock argues that the distilleries that survived in the Upland

Grampians were the ones that were able to make connections with the railway

developments of the 1850s and 60s.170 George Smith, founder of The Glenlivet

distillery was far-sighted in this regard. At an early stage, he became aware of the

importance of railway development in the north-east of Scotland to encourage

industry and agriculture, and he became a shareholder in the Moray Railway and

director of the Strathspey Railway companies. The Glenlivet whisky, which was

originally carried south in casks on the backs of ponies, and later sent by coasters

from Garmouth on the Moray Firth to Leith and other ports, was delivered to

customers by rail after the opening of the Strathspey Railway's station 8 miles from

the distillery at Ballindalloch in 1863.171 By contrast, the introduction of rail transport

had no impact on the Cabrach legal stills as they had long since ceased production

167 David Beckingham, The Temperance Movement in Aberdeen, Scotland, 1830–1845: Distilled

Death and Liquid Damnation, by Aaron Hoffman, reviewed in: Northern Scotland, 6(1), (2015), p. 116. 168 Beckingham, The Temperance Movement in Aberdeen, Scotland, 1830–1845: Distilled Death and

Liquid Damnation, by Aaron Hoffman, p.116 169 Ibid. 170 Turnock, D., 1981. The Retreat of settlement in the Grampian Uplands. Northern Scotland, 4(1),

p. 91. 171 Iain F. Russell, ‘Smith family (per. 1824–1975)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford

University Press, 2004; [online edn] Jan 2010, available from: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/72830, (accessed 9 Feb 2017)

45

by the time the rail network was extended to nearby Dufftown in 1856.

Writing in the first decade of the 20th century, Taylor lamented that, ‘For some time

there were two bona fide distilleries in Lower Cabrach, one at Mains of Lesmurdie,

and the other at Tomnaven, but the cost of importing barley, together with the

difficulty of transit put a stop to the industry.’172 There is certainly some truth in this

statement, however many other social and economic factors contributed to the

demise of legal distilling in the Cabrach in the 1840s. Nevertheless, it can be stated

with certainty that the transition from illicit to licensed production was short lived.

Legal Cabrach whisky may have been held in great regard throughout the North-east

of Scotland, commanding a price equal to whisky from Glenlivet but, unfortunately,

this was not enough to ensure the survival of small scale licensed Cabrach

production in the face of economic hardships and the changing nature of distilling in

Scotland.

9. The Role of Inverharroch Farm in Distilling

The farm of Inverharroch passed into the ownership of the Gordon family in 1750.173

In the early 1800s, Alexander Forbes was the principle tenant, paying an annual rent

of £122.174 In 1836, the tenancy passed from Forbes to James Merson.175 During

the tenure of Forbes, James John and James McCronie also resided at

Inverharroch. These men held no official lease and contributed £35 each in rent

annually.176 There is no written mention of any of these residents being directly

involved in illicit or legal distilling practices in the early 19th century. Information

inferred from rent ledgers does however, suggest that John and McCronie had some

involvement in illicit distilling practices in the 1820s. Their rental arrangement

suggests that they were cotters, holding a house with a small piece of land separate

from the main farm, as part of their employment agreement with the principle tenant.

172 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 173 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 174 NRS GD44/52/209: Rent ledger, Cabrach, Achindoun and Glenrinnes, 1822-23. 175 NRS CR6/13. 176 Ibid.

46

This cotter class along with the landless peasantry were the principle participants in

illicit distilling activities. Whisky production provided them with a vital source of

additional income, and allowed them to convert grain, and bulky low value crop, into

high value whisky, that could be sold to many smugglers operating in the region.

This also benefited the landlord as this lower class of tenants were able to make

their rent payments. James Gordon lamented in 1823 that, ‘… the tenuntry who do

not smuggle do not pay their rents at present … I have not got one shilling from the

better tenants, and I cannot press them, because they cannot pay, but cottagers,

whom I suspect of smuggling, pay their rent, and they carry their heads very high in

consequence.’177 As a result of this there was very little arrears in the Cabrach at

the height of illicit distilling and smuggling. However, after the virtual eradication of

these practices in the 1820s, arrears markedly increased, particularly amongst

smaller farmers and cotters. 178 Clearly the suppression of unlicensed distilling

negatively impacted their ability to make rent payments. Throughout the 1830s,

John and McCronie, continuously found themselves behind, with John accumulating

arrears of £60 by 1840.179 Subsequently, they were both removed from their small

holdings, which were absorbed into the larger Inverharroch farm complex. The

sudden inability to make rent payments, suggests a notable loss of income, perhaps

linked to the forced abandonment of illicit distilling practices by John and McCronie in

the late 1820s. However, the harsh climatic conditions and subsequent crop failures

of the 1830s, could also have negatively impacted these tenants and affected their

ability to make rent. The area surrounding Inverharroch was certainly a hub of illegal

whisky production. James Gordon of Milton of Lesmurdie recalled in 1901, that he

could see the remains of several smuggling huts from his door as a boy with 15

located on the banks of the Deveron and its tributaries.180

Inverharroch is located in a strategically important part of the Cabrach. The farm sits

adjacently to the main access road through the parish. This A941 route links the

Cabrach with Dufftown, 10 miles to the North-west, and Rhynie, 8 miles to the East.

This would have been the principal trade route in the early 1800s, allowing the

177 Coms. of Inquiry into Collection and Management of Revenue in Ireland and Great Britain Fifth

Report (Distilleries). 1823. House of Commons Papers. 253(405), p. 178. 178 NRS CR6/13. 179Ibid. 180 Aberdeen Journal, Friday 11 January 1901.

47

transport of legal whisky to the principal markets of Aberdeen, Fyvie, and Montrose.

The farm is situated at the crossroads between the A941, and its adjoining link road

to Haugh of Glass. Whisky from the legal stills at Lesmurdie and Tomnaven would

have been transported along this lesser road to join the main route out of the parish,

at Inverharroch. Taylor details the importance of the crossroad at Inverharroch to

the trade of Cabrach whisky in a diary entry from May 1838. ‘Snow has fallen almost

every day since the second week in January … The road was cut at Inverharroch

upon the 30th of April to allow the carrier to come to the distilleries.’181 Clearly

Inverharroch was a key link in the trade routes through the Cabrach, along which

legal whisky from the local distilleries was regularly transported between the 1820s

and 1840s.

It is highly likely that Inverharroch was directly involved in growing the bere barley

utilised in illicit and legal Cabrach distilling. Inverharroch contained some of the best

arable land in the parish, something that was scarce in other areas, particularly

Upper Cabrach. The quality of the land was, ‘frequently commented upon,’182 and

very little of it was designated for animal pasture in the early 19th century. Names of

the various farm fields, including Kiln hillock and Coulnagrain, suggests that barley

was being grown for malting, alongside other cereal crops.183 High quality grain was

uncommon in the Cabrach, and much of it was brought in from outside the parish to

order to supply the legal and unlicensed distillers. Therefore, any bere barley

successfully grown in the region would have been in great demand, as distillers

sought to negate the relatively expensive and often problematic tasks of importing

grain. Inverharroch farm was ideally positioned to supply this demand, as it was

located within a two-mile radius of the legal stills at Mains of Lesmurdie and

Tomnaven.

10. Illicit Distilling in the Cabrach

Illicit distilling and smuggling was carried on extensively in the Cabrach. While it is

181 John Taylor, A Cabrach Diary [online], (1836-1887), available from:

http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stuartpetrie/A%20CABRACH%20DIARY.doc (Accessed 25 February 2017). 182 NRS GD44/39/8/1. 183 Ibid.

48

hard to say with any degree of certainty when the practice began, it is fair to say that

it was widespread and an entrenched part of culture and economy across the region.

It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that every house in the Cabrach had its

private still. In one year the names of eighty people are recorded as having

been discovered to be engaged in illicit distilling in the Upper Cabrach

alone.184

During the first quarter of the present century there was an illicit still on almost

every farm, and on many farms as many as half a dozen. Smuggling,

especially in the inland glens, was then almost universal.185

It is easier to say when it went into decline. The 1823 Excise Act saw the

establishment of legal distilleries north of the Highland line, and the availability of

quality malt whisky more consistent, so that the market for illicit whisky was

superseded. Adam Mackie wrote that, almost in anticipation of the changes to be

affected by the new licensing situation, the smugglers simply gave up their vocation.

Cabrach whisky, he noted, was more scarce in 1824, and 1826 was the last

occasion he recorded himself acquiring any for his shop. James Gordon, the parish

minister of the Cabrach, ‘assisted in taking measures to put it [illicit distilling] down’,

and claimed quantifiable success by 1827. The suppression of illegal distilling, he

stated, caused those employed in the industry to emigrate (chiefly to America and

Jamaica) and the population of the parish to drop by between eighty and ninety

people. In that case, the impact of distilling, and of licensing laws, on the Cabrach

can hardly be overstated.186

10.1 Raw Materials

There is evidence to suggest that the grain used for making illicit whisky in the

Cabrach was both domestic and imported. In 1793

184 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 185 J. Black, ‘On the Agriculture of Aberdeen and Banff Shires’ in Transactions of the Highland and

Agricultural Society of Scotland, 3(4) (1871), pp. 1 -36. 186 Poor Law Enquiry (Scotland) Part II, containing minutes of evidence taken in the synods of Ross,

Argyll, Shetland, Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness, Gleeneg, Moray, Aberdeen, 1844. Command

Papers, p. 695

49

The upper part of the parish in Aberdeenshire seldom produces sufficiency of

grain for itself. The lower part of the parish in Banffshire produces sufficiency

of grain for itself, and disposes of about 200 bolls, which would make up the

deficiency in the upper part, was it not disposed of to the neighbouring

distilleries. The defect is made up from other places.187

This also suggests that distilling at that time took upwards of 200 bolls of grain

annually. Distilling was natural desiderata of the agrarian way of life in Highland

Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. A key crop in the district was bere barley, which was

made all the more valuable when malted for brewing and distilling. In turn, distillery

draff was a fine source of feed for livestock - a significant by-product in a parish

dependant on rearing cattle. When the grain market was depressed the relative

value of malt, and malted barley products were all the greater, and despite its

illegality, the temptation to distill and smuggle whisky was great.188 James Gordon

took the [racist] view that the peasantry had smuggling in their DNA, a perspective of

the Scottish Highlander at odds with the British government which had persisted

since Jacobitism.

I am afraid that it has grown among our people into a sort of habit; I think the

lower orders of tenantry almost breed their children into it as a sort of

profession.189

But there was a distinction between the smuggler who transported the mountain dew

and the tenant farmer who made whisky to dispose of his grain. The enterprise was

not limited to poor folk alone either, as landowners supplied illicit distillers with

cereals when more legitimate channels were either dried up or uncompetitive. And

while the illicit whisky was consumed across all social classes, 190 the case for

187 James Taylor, Cabrach Feerings, (Banff, 1920), p. 121. 188 State of the facts relative to the Scotch Distillery; shewing, From the regulations of the distillery

laws, and the mode of working stills in the different districts, that the Lowland distiller pays but a mere

trifle of the duty, compared with the Highland distiller. (Aberdeen, 1798), pp. 24, 26, 31. 189 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 190 NRS CR6/18: Banff/Inverness: Factor's Letter Books (Drumin Estate Office), 1824-1827, p. 334;

Fifth report, p. 174.

50

legalising the distillery in the north was pressed continually by the landowning elite

who sought a legitimate local market for their victual.191

Grain was also being imported to supply the illicit stills. In the 1820s Adam Mackie of

Fyvie, a farmer as well as a retailer of illicit whisky, who would malt his bere in Fyvie,

would provide it as part payment for the whisky he received from the smuggler,

Charles Meldrum.192 It was also alleged that grain was imported from much further

afield, namely England. That assertion was a politically motivated complaint by a

Scots grain merchant who saw his business threatened by proposals to equalise

duty between England and Scotland, and is not supported by a broad base of

evidence. But the merchant, John Young of Inverness, does tie together the supply

of quality grain with superior whisky which is identified as a character of illicit

Highland whisky, not legal Lowland alternatives.193

Times of dearth put great pressure on the limited grain supplies. In 1782 the

residents of the Cabrach were reportedly selling their cattle and household furniture

in order to import grain for subsistence, and a call for charitable donations was made

across Aberdeenshire.194 In 1801 the Commissioners of Supply for Aberdeenshire

called illicit distilling ‘immoral’, because ‘notwithstanding the scarcity and high prices

of grain and of potatoes, the practice of an illicit distilling of spirits from these articles,

still prevails’.195

10.2 Methodology

At the turn of the nineteenth century stills were common apparatus on farms in

Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, ‘and on many farms as many as half a dozen’ stills

could be found.196

It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that every house in the Cabrach had its

191 c.f. AUL MS 3175/1375/2: Observations on the distilleries submitted by the farmers to the

consideration of the heritors of Banffshire n.d. [1798?] 192 AUL MS3347: Adam Mackie Papers, vol. IV, p. 117. 193 AUL MS 3470/6/1/635/2: John Young to Roderick Mackenzie, Inverness, 24 March 1803. 194 ‘Charitable Supply for the poor inhabitants of the parishes of Auchindore and Cabrach in

Aberdeenshire’ (Aberdeen, 1782). 195 ACA As/Acom/1/11: Aberdeen County Commissioners or Supply Minutes, 1799-1808, 12 January

1801 196 Black, ‘Agriculture of Aberdeen and Banff Shires’, p. 5.

51

private still … the gauger had a busy time, and if he did not give timely

warning of his approach like that other classic gauger, with his "Ower the hills

and far away," other means were found to spread the news, A white sheet

stretched on a peatstack, or displayed on a knoll, signalled danger from one

point to another and the signal passed on warned all the Cabrach, so that by

the time he arrived, all the potties and other paraphernalia were well out of the

way, hidden in a convenient moss hag it might be, or literally "ower the hills

and far away," for often one of the distillers would seize the "pottie" and run

with it 197

Which suggests that whisky was being made domestically in the Cabrach, that

distilleries were located within farms and not solely on the hillside. This is reinforced

by statements that much distillation was carried out by women ‘there is a race of low

cottagers and women, widows, who manufacture the spirits and run all the risks of

manufacturing’198

Illicit distillers made use of peat, which was a readily available source of fuel in the

parish. Lowland distillers would attempt to imitate the flavour of illicit whisky, which

they sold as ‘Old Ferintosh’ (after the long-obsolete legal Highland still once run by

Forbes of Culloden), by adding peat to the still. Allegedly, illicit distillers rejected the

use of coal on the basis that the impact on the flavour of whisky would be

undesirable.199 However it is most likely that, as Lowland distillers used coal on the

basis of cost and availability, so highland distillers used peat.

In Banffshire, at the close of the eighteenth century, it was stated that ‘here, almost

every man knows the business, at least in its simplified state and at one time or other

has been his own distiller’.200

Mashing was carried out simply by tipping the dried malt into a cauldron or

drum containing hot water, and more often than not, a layer of heather for

197 James Taylor, The Cabrach (1914), [online], available

from:http://www.threestones.co.uk/book/index.html (Accessed 25 February 2017) 198 Fifth report, p. 176. 199 AUL MS3175/1353/2: At BANFF, the twenty-seventh day of March, one thousand seven hundred

and ninety eight Years - In presence of a Quorum of the Committee of the County of Banff, appointed

to conduct the Application to Parliament respecting Distilleries 200 AUL MS 3175/1375/2.

52

draining purposes, and heating it up for a couple of hours over a peat fire …

The resulting fermentable worts were then poured or drained into a home-

made fermenting vessel, and the process of mashing repeated a second time

using fresh water on the original grains [likely in lieu of a sparge]. Mashing

occupied the best part of five hours, and on its completion, the smugglers had

only to inject a quantity of barm into the fermenting tub before retiring for

upwards of two days; that is for the duration of fermentation …The majority of

bothies were equipped with a single still and cooling worm, which meant that

the actual distilling had to be carried out in two quite separate stages, the still

having to be thoroughly cleansed between alternate charges.201

‘Slow Distillation is much in flavour of making good spirits’ explained John Leven, the

General Supervisor of the Excise in Scotland, referring to the method of production

in the Highlands, whereas the rapidly distilled whisky produced in the Lowlands ‘give

an Head Ach, and make any Person sick that drink but a moderate Quantity’.202 The

importance of ingredients and method was reiterated by George Skene Keith in

1811:

By distilling slowly, and from malt, with a small proportion of potatoes, they

make a good spirit ; though they seldom get a gallon of spirits from a bushel

of malt. A legal distiller, from the same quantity of materials, makes at least 50

per cent. of more spirits.203

The apparatus used by the illicit distillers were nevertheless inexpensive, and not

entirely conducive to producing the highest quality spirits. ‘They use no proper stills,

but a wooden head and two copper pipes; their whole apparatus amounting only to a

few shillings.’ 204 The cheapness of the stills minimised the potential losses in the

event that they were confiscated by the excise. They were also relatively small, so

that they were mobile and could transported to and from illicit bothies, as well as

hidden hastily from gaugers.

201 S. W. Sillett, Illicit Scotch, (Aberdeen, 1965) p. 86. 202 Vivian E. Dietz, ‘The Politics of Whisky: Scottish Distillers, the Excise and the Pittite State’, Journal

of Brittish Studies, 36(1), p. 63. 203 G.S. Keith, A General View of the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire (Aberdeen, 1811), p. 670. 204 Ibid.

53

Figure 11: The Garden Cottage Still © Culture Perth and Kinross

The most fatal defect in the smuggler’s appliances is the construction of his

still. Ordinary stills have head elevations from 12 to 18 feet, which serves for

purposes of rectification, as the fusel oils and other essential oils and acids

fall back into the still, while the alcoholic vapour, which is more volatile,

passes over to the worm, where it becomes condensed. The smuggler’s still

has no head elevation … and consequently the essential oils and acids pass

over with the alcohol into the worm … These essential oils and acids can only

be eliminated, neutralised, or destroyed by storing the spirits some time in

wood, but the smuggler, as a rule, sends his spirits out new in jars and

bottles, so that the smuggled whisky, if taken in considerable quantities, is

actually poisonous.205

10.3 Smuggling

The Smugglers Well, near Clayshooter Hill, gives firm evidence of discreet distilling

taking place in hidden corners of the Cabrach.

205 Smith, The Secret Still, p. 43.

54

A footpath from Broomhill leads up Clayshooter Hill, and the Smuggler's Well is

approximately 1km east of the footpath, through heather moorland. Some craigs are

visible on a steep incline on the side of the hill, but the neuk in which the 'well' is

located remains quite hidden from a distance greater than fifty metres. The well

bears all the hallmarks of a smuggler's bothy. In addition to being hidden, it is

comprised of built stone walls to the front and side, and also has an entrance. The

walls remain intact and the foot print of the bothy is easily identifiable. It is built into

the side of the hill, so the two other walls are of earth and stone. It is no greater than

a square metre of area within the door. At the time it was in use, the bothy would

have had a roof covered in heather to further disguise it.

Figure 12 Smugglers Well Photograph K German © The Cabrach Trust

The bothy has a constant source of clear running water, which flows before the front

wall and falls underground where it disappears from view. From further up the hill it

seems plausible that the burn has been diverted to run past the bothy. The bothy is

nestled in a small neuk and an easy climb takes one up to an excellent vantage point

and we were able to see traffic moving on the B9002 road to Auchindoir and the

A941 road to Rhynie. Undoubtedly, illicit distillers using this site would have had a

clear view of excisemen approaching. From the road the only possible tell-tale sign

55

of the bothy would be smoke arising from the process of distilling. However, with the

backdrop of the hill and the propensity for mist and snow in the hills, weather would

commonly obscure even this indicator of the illicit activity taking place. A map of

1857 shows the route smugglers would have taken from the Cabrach to their

markets in Aberdeenshire, through the vicinity of Smuggler’s Well and the pass

between the Buck and Hill of Snowie Slacks:206

Figure 13 AUL MS3860-30303 F.A. MacDonald and Partners engineers and surveyors maps and

plans collection © Aberdeen University Library Special Collections

Despite the presence of whisky bothies such as Smuggler’s Well, we should

206 AUL MS 3860/30303: Records of F.A. MacDonald and Partners, engineers and surveyors

(incorporating Walker & Duncan, Aberdeen): maps and plans collection. copyright Aberdeen

University Library Special Collections.

56

remember that illicit Cabrach whisky developed from domestic distilling. It can be

assumed that whisky bothies were employed later, when the reach of the excise

increased, continuing into the period after 1823 when Excise men were actually

stationed in the parish.

There is an important distinction to be made between illicit distillers and smugglers.

Distillers can be identified with a degree of certainty as subsistence farmers,

cottagers and small tenants. Their manufacture of whisky was cash-incentivised

enterprise carried out by individuals stretching to pay their rents. Stories prevail of

the elderly and debilitated men, or of the fathers of young families, turning to distilling

for a vital income. Widows represented a group whose vulnerable economic status

compelled them to find employment in the illegal business. Invariably it is court

records that reveal these circumstances, and more often than not they were treated

with leniency by the authorities.207 More respectable would-be illicit distillers would

employ young maidservants to provide cover for their engagement in the profitable

trade.208 Yet the female distiller rings faithfully with Landseer’s famous portrayal of

the illicit still. Smugglers were more transient, and were regarded more as travelling

merchants. The risks they ran in transporting the illicit whisky allowed them to charge

the premium. Smugglers paid their rent and held their heads with pride accordingly;

distillers struggled to do so.209

The diary of Adam Mackie tells us a great deal about illicitly distilled Cabrach whisky

in the early nineteenth-century. The diary tells us how the whisky was transmitted to

market; what the market was and what the whisky cost; how the whisky was stored,

matured and sold; the names and nature of smugglers; and methodologies for

circumventing the attention of the excise men. It also shows how the market began

to change following the excise laws of 1823. Mackie’s situation was comfortable, but

what makes it exceptional is the detailed diary he kept over ten years between 1818

207 c.f. NRS CE21/5: papers relating to a Petition for the release of Alexander Stephen, imprisoned in

Banff Goal for the non payment of a penalty of £20 for illicit distilling to the Lords Commissioners of

HM Treasury,1829. 208 T.M. Devine, ‘The Rise and Fall of Illicit Whisky-Making in Northern Scotland, c.1780-1840’,

Scottish Historical Review 54, no. 158 (1975), p.156; A. I. Macinnes, Clanship, Commerce and the

House of Stuart, (East Linton, Tuckwell Press, 1993) p. 223. 209 Fifth report, pp. 176-177.

57

and 1828.210

Mackie’s diary gives the names of smugglers of Cabrach whisky. First was Charles

Meldrum, who was the principal supplier of Cabrach whisky to Mackie. Meldrum was

not the only smuggler with which Mackie was concerned, though he does seem to be

Mackie’s most frequent partner. Mackie writes of meeting with “Chas. Craig & a

whiskey smuggler”, as well as Alex Singer, in 1821, and shortly thereafter he bought

from James Singer (of Rayne?) a consignment of whisky. Later Mackie would deal

with a Rainy [Rennie] from the Cabrach. Meldrum’s dealings with Mackie are

informing of the route to market of the Cabrach whisky. The whisky was ordered in

advance. It is not clear if it was paid for in advance. A delivery was then scheduled,

and this would invariably be under the cover of darkness; often it would be in a

neutral location but occasionally the whisky would be delivered directly to Mackie’s

shop. The nature of smuggling whisky is given a vivid portrayal by Malcolm Gillespie,

who names two Cabrach smugglers - twin brothers Ebenezer and Peter Bain. In

some detail, Gillespie suggests whisky intended for Aberdeen was conveyed via Old

Meldrum where there appears to have been a significant stockpile.

I found in the premises of William Fraser, jun. vintner, Whiterashes, the five

horses and five carts as originally discovered by my sentries, viz. Brownie and

Jenkins, upon which I immediately proceeded to search for the whisky. When

I was at this duty, I discovered some of Fraser’s inmates running about,

carrying apparently casks, and I proceeded with my party towards his house. I

found a 20-pint anker in Fraser’s Dunghill, and other three in his byre and

stable, covered with straw. I also found in his house two notorious

delinquents, Ebenezer Bain and Peter Bain, residenters in Powneed, Cabrach

… This Fraser is reputed for harbouring delinquents against the Excise…211

Gillespie describes a party of between fifteen and twenty men, with five horses and

carts carrying approximately 170 gallons of whisky between them. The nocturnal

convoy of whisky to market was discreet, despite the heavy personnel involved, but

once the contraband had been dropped off the smugglers would adopt an altogether

210 AUL MS3347. 211 Malcolm Gillespie, A report of the Trial of Malcolm Gillespie and George Skene Edwards (William

Robertson, Aberdeen, 1827) p. 38. Ebeneezer and Peter Bain were twin brothers.

58

more cavalier attitude, advertising their product with a flair modern marketeers would

be proud of:

I have seen a troop of thirty of them riding in Indian file, and in broad day,

through the streets of Brechin, after they had succeeded in disposing of their

whisky, and, as they rode leisurely along, beating time with their formidable

cudgels on the empty barrels.212

Adam Mackie was able to circumvent the attention of the excise men in Fyvie. He did

this in three specific ways. Firstly, he bought illicit whisky directly from the

confiscated stock held by the gaugers. This was an expensive enterprise, as Mackie

was known to pay £8 an anker to the gauger, double the black market value.

However, Mr Neil did seize significant amounts of whisky and this was no doubt an

important element of Mackie’s supply. This practice provided a suitable cover for

Mackie retailing Cabrach/“Highland” whisky in his shop. Secondly, Mackie retained

close links with the excise men of his district. He regularly dined with Mr Bruce,

supervisor of the Excise and nurtured cordial relations. More brazenly, he actually

lodged Mr [Alex?] Neil in Fyvie. Neil was an excise man, and as landlord Mackie was

able to gain advance knowledge of his movements. Accordingly, Mackie conducted

his illicit dealings with the privileged knowledge of the whereabouts of the gauger.

Much as when he took delivery of illicit whisky under cover of darkness, Mackie

managed his whisky stocks when he knew for certain that he was not being

observed by the authorities. And thus, the third way in which Mackie evaded the

excise was simply through hiding his whisky. Mackie tells us he hides his various

casks of illicit in peat stacks, in dykes, in the lime shade, and so on. 213

As an aside, the link between smuggling and Jacobitism is a curious one, which had

little basis in fact, but much in the way of symbolism. The Jacobite cause has a

famously romantic reputation for the cultural integrity of the Highlands, for noble

resistance and for martial heritage in opposition to successive Whig British

governments. When smugglers deposited their whisky in Brechin they deliberately

212 J.G. Fyfe (ed.), Scottish Diaries and Memoirs, 1746-1843 (Stirling, 1942), p. 522-3. 213 AUL MS3347, vol. III, p. 59; vol. IV, p. 20; vol. II, p. 92; vol. III, p. 39; vol. IV, p. 231; vol. II, p. 41;

vol. IV, p. 203. Mackie maintained better relations with local excisemen, Mr Bruce and Mr Neil, than

he did with those from the country. Neil and Bruce sold Mackie an anker for five guineas in 1821;

59

recalled this heritage by appropriating the costume and tropes of the Jacobite

highlander while delivering their contraband into seaboard towns of eastern

Scotland. The brazen behaviour of the smugglers, having succeeded in their quest,

conjures images of military and ritualistic behaviour: Highlanders in file, beating

drums was clearly an impressive sight. This sort of imagery reinforces the image of

the whisky smuggler as the successor to the Highland’s martial heritage as

formidable clans and can easily be related to Jacobitism. Aeneas MacDonald made

the observation that the period of whisky smuggling was ‘an heroic age of whisky,

when it was hunted upon the mountains with a price on its head as if it were a Stuart

prince’.214

Figure 14 John Pettie RA HRSA Tussle for the Keg © Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum

214 Aeneas MacDonald, Whisky, edited by Ian Buxton, (Edinburgh, 2016), p. 39.

60

By identifying clandestine whisky making with the Jacobite cause, MacDonald casts

smuggling as the embodiment of Scots resistance which had existed since the

Revolution of 1689 and intensified after the parliamentary Union of 1707, when the

government of Scotland was incorporated into Westminster. The imposition of

’English’ standards (e.g. weights and measures and duty) on Scotland directly

affected whisky making, and the malt tax riots of 1725 are just one example of how

they were publicly rejected by Scots at large. The suppression of harbingers of

Scottish culture, which rapidly followed the genocide at and after Culloden in 1746,

occurred at a time when distilling whisky domestically, seen as a traditional right in

Scottish households, was also forced underground. Thus, making and selling whisky

became ‘the last relic of the ancient Gaelic civilization’, and evading the excise

officers of the British exchequer, became the means for Scots, either explicitly or

tacitly, to resist the reach of the British government into areas like Aberdeenshire

and Banffshire which had previously been significantly pro-Jacobite during and

between the risings of 1715 and 1745.215 The hills which had once hosted hostilities

between redcoats and Jacobites became the landscape where gaugers sought and

battled smugglers. This clash of cultures was given vivid expression by John Pettie

in the 1868 painting “Tussle for the Keg”. The 1823 licensing act brought this

opposition to its close, when excise officers were allowed into smugglers’ territories

as integral parts of the established legal distilleries.

10.4 Consumption of Illicit Cabrach Whisky

Charles Mackie was a farmer, innkeeper and greengrocer in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire.

Fyvie is located in Aberdeenshire, between Aberdeen and the Cabrach. As a

greengrocer, Mackie traded in, amongst other things, whisky. Whisky was an

important and probably lucrative part of Mackie’s business, but it was not vital.

Mackie is much more concerned with the butter market, for example. Mackie retailed

whisky in his shop, and predominantly sold ‘Low Country’ whisky which was cheaper

215 MacDonald, Whisky, p. 39; c.f. Alistair and Henrietta Tayler, Jacobites of Aberdeenshire and

Banffshire in the Forty-Five (Milne and Hutchinson, Aberdeen, 1928).

61

and more readily available than what he called Highland whisky. ‘Highland whisky’,

in Mackie’s diary, is synonymous with Cabrach whisky, which was illicitly distilled:

Monday 17 July [1820] … Bought from Charles Meldrum 4 cags whisky said

to be 32 pints at 3/6- the Cabrach make caled Highland whisky here.

Bought 3 ankers whiskey from Charles Meldrum (Cabrach make) at three

pound fifteen shillings an anker

Cabrach whisky was considered to be a superior product to its Lowland alternative:

…bought from Charles Meldrum 14 pints of what he calls Highland Whiskey at

4/- which is a better bargain than the low country whisky at the same money.

216

It is apparent that Cabrach whisky was most revered by Adam Mackie. Price is an

indicator of both quality but also of supply and demand. Glenlivet whisky, which had

(and retains) a certain cachet, did not command a higher price than that from the

Cabrach. But Lowland whisky frequently flooded the market, so that inferior whisky

was available at a lower price. Prices did fluctuate, but for the sake of example in

May 1821 Mackie paid £3, 6/ for “Highland” whisky and only £2, 6/ for “Low Country”

whisky. The scarcity of illicit ‘Highland’ whisky certainly contributed to its ability to

command a higher price. When truly challenging weather effectively cut off the

distilling areas from their markets, then the price went up. The dreadful winter of

1822/3 saw the price of illicit whisky rise. Glenlivet whisky rose to £4 for an anker

and Cabrach whisky was temporarily unavailable altogether. The excise laws of

1823 caused the price of illicit Cabrach whisky to fluctuate. At first it went up to £4, 4

shillings. However, by mid-1824, the price was in decline, dropping to only £3, 6

shillings, before renewed scarcity caused the price to rise again and by 1826 it was

back to £4 an anker.217

Charles Meldrum is identifiable as a significant agent dealing in smuggled whisky. In

fact, he is the principal source of Mackie’s supply of illicit whisky. Mackie usually

struck his deal with Meldrum in Forgue, implying Forgue was Meldrum’s base. At the

216 AUL MS3347, vol. II, p. 74; III, p. 8; IV, p. 90. 217 AUL MS3347, vol. IV, pp. 16, 72, 112; vol. V, pp. 69, 112, 120, 142.

62

very least we can be certain that Forgue was the avenue through which Cabrach

whisky reached its market in Fyvie. Moreover, Mackie made fortnightly rounds in

Auchterless and Aberdeen, and it is to be presumed that he traded Cabrach whisky

during the course of his business trips in these places. His ‘principal merchant’ in

Aberdeen was ‘Mr Davidson’.218

We learn something of the conditioning of whisky. It becomes clear that Mackie

differentiates between inferior Lowland whisky and Highland whisky. Lowland whisky

is stored in the shop, in a ‘spirits cask’ and is retailed at some pace. Highland whisky

is allowed to mature in casks in the various hiding places. On one occasion, when

Mackie received complaints that a particular batch was not tasting as it should have,

he transplanted the whisky into a fresh cask in order that ‘it may have time to rectify

itself’. After the excise laws changed and Mackie could legally buy whisky locally he

kept a 124 gallon cask in his shop and bought whisky in volumes of 100 gallons.219

Mackie’s diary confirms what has long been understood: that the further away from

the still whisky travelled, the more valuable it became. In short, the people who made

Cabrach whisky did not reap the financial benefits. Charles Meldrum, one dealer of

smuggled Cabrach whisky, was able to command higher prices than any other

whisky on the market, while Adam Mackie, the retailer of illicit Cabrach whisky

routinely counted his blessings for the relatively comfortable lifestyle his business

afforded him. While Cabrach smugglers took pride in their ability to pay their rents

without arrears the diary of Taylor of Boghead gives a firm impression of the

hardship of crofting in the Cabrach in the early 1800s.

The introduction of the excise laws in 1823 impacted upon the smugglers’ trade. As

licensed distilleries were poised to take over the smugglers’ business, the smugglers

effectively gave up their trade. One of them, James Singer, even went to work for

Mackie in Fyvie. Illicit Cabrach whisky became scarce yet demand continued and the

price of Cabrach whisky actually went up, so the excise laws did not immediately

bring an end to illicit distilling in the Cabrach, and the Cabrach ‘brand’ had significant

enough weight to be sought out, despite legal alternatives entering the market.220 As

218 AUL MS3347, vol. IV, p. 248; vol. V, p. 27. 219 AUL MS3347, vol. IV, p 248; vol. VI, p. 87. 220 AUL MS3347, vol. V, pp. 69, 89,92

63

late as 1826 Mackie was still sourcing Cabrach whisky to meet public demand:

Bought two ankers whisky this morning from John Rainy at Dogmoss @ £4

the anker from the Cabrach which is still better liked than the Legal.221

The market would take some time to settle out, but it is clear that the industry was

moving on. By April 1825 Mackie was investing in Glen Garioch Distillery, in Old

Meldrum, in which he was briefly also a board member. Old Meldrum was much

more local and accessible to Mackie’s primary business than the Cabrach. And, like

the illicit distillers before, it provided a market for Mackie’s grain.222 The distinct

advantage of of the legal stills was the availability and ease of supply:

Went down on foot to Old Meldrum…and bought a hundred gallons whisky at

the Glengarioch Distillery at 8/- the gallon.223

Mackie’s eventual abandonment of illicit Cabrach whisky in favour of the legal was in

line with an uplift in quality brought about by the excise laws. ‘The whisky produced

in the legal stills was considered a “far purer spirit than was formerly drunk, under

the name of smuggled whisky”’.224

Illicit whisky making played a significant role in the economy and culture of the

Cabrach. All parts of society were touched by it: from the farmers producing the grain

to the landowners tacitly supporting the trade; from the cotters and widows producing

the spirit to the smugglers transporting it to market. Economically, it brought value

and sustainability to the land; it allowed the elderly to earn an income, and the

smugglers to hold their heads up with pride as they paid their rents in full and on

time. The impact of the decline of the smuggling trade was enormous for the

Cabrach, with eighty people or more estimated to have emigrated to America and

Jamaica as the opportunity to earn cash was lost. The loss of such a significant

number of men, in connection with a clamp-down on traditional Highland rites -

domestic distilling - by the British government was certainly devastating. It formed

part of a pattern which commenced with the defeat of Jacobitism and continued with

221 AUL MS3347, vol. VI, pp. 112. 222 AUL MS3347, vol. VI, pp. 53, 128. 223 William Mackie and David Stevenson (eds), The Diary of a Canny Man, 1818-28. Adam Mackie,

Farmer, Merchant and Innkeeper in Fyvie (Aberdeen: University Press, 1991), p. 71. 224 Black, History of Brechin, p. 273.

64

the impact of World War I on the adult male population on the parish. Subsequent

land management has done little to stay the gradual decline of the vitality of the

Cabrach community. Symbolically, whisky does indeed represent an ‘heroic’ era in

the history of the Cabrach, as Aeneas MacDonald suggested.225 In this context, the

fact that the legal distilleries of the Cabrach were so short-lived is quite tragic. And

on that point, the renewal of distilling in the Cabrach in the 21st century must be

regarded as a vital and affirmative step in the rejuvenation of the local economy and

culture.

11. Conclusion and Blueprint Information for the Recreation of an Early

Licensed Distillery at Inverharroch

This report has shown in considerable detail the character of distilling in the Cabrach

in the early nineteenth century, and the nature of the licensed distilleries of the

Cabrach. It has demonstrated beyond doubt that there were three licensed

distilleries in the parish. The Cabrach Distillery at Lesmurdie, licensed by James

Taylor and operated partly as a co-operative of local distillers was in production from

1826 to perhaps as late as 1851; Buck Distillery at Blackmiddens, operated by

James Smith from 1824 to 1833; and Tomnaven Distillery which was run by James

Robertson at Nether Tomnaven from 1826 and continued production until the early

1840s. The report has located the premises of the distilleries with such a degree of

certainty that it has been possible to clarify previous assertions that as many as five

distilleries were legally established in the Cabrach.

The distilleries were established in typical Scottish agricultural buildings. We know

that the Cabrach distillers were resident at their farms prior to the 1823 Excise Act

and the licensing of their distilleries, so it is clear that farming premises were

converted to allow for distilling. In each case, this incorporated a watermill to power

the distillery engine which allowed for milling and pumping. Accordingly, the

distilleries also had a ready supply of water for brewing, cooling and cleaning

purposes. In the case of Blackmiddens it is clear that a separate still house was in

use. But otherwise, the farm premises lent themselves to the requirements of the

225 Aeneas MacDonald, Whisky, p. 39.

65

distillery. Malting lofts would have been a feature of these farms and it is likely that a

communal kiln at Corinacy was utilised in the malting process. Similar suggestions

that there were maltings at Reekimlane may yet be substantiated. In this regard,

Inverharroch Farm is an appropriate candidate to host a newly established farm

distillery in Cabrach in the 21st century. The cost of establishing even modest

distilleries of this scale could extend beyond £200 (which amounts to £10,000 in

today’s money). Co-operative distilling was a suitable way of spreading the cost and

the risk of such an investment and this was certainly practiced at Lesmurdie. It also

goes to show that the wider Cabrach community was involved in licensed distilling,

beyond the named licencees. In essence, this historic communal cooperative

resonates with the ethos and aims of the Cabrach Trust and the purpose of

establishing a modern distillery at Inverharroch to sustain and revitalise the Cabrach

community.

The nature of the early licensed stills has been investigated to an extent that the

distillery size, methodologies and output can be stated. The distilleries were

producing around 1000 gallons of wash weekly, which was distilled into 100 gallons

of spirit. The distillery outputs did vary, but on average were producing between

5,000 and 6,000 gallons of whisky annually. Even by contemporary standards, these

distilleries were small. As brewing and distilling would not have taken place

concurrently, mashing would yield approximately 500 gallons of wash and the

distilleries would have two washbacks. Mashtun and washbacks were made from

wood, either larch or black birch. The wash stills would have been approximately 200

gallons volume and the spirit stills around 120 gallons. Both would have been made

of copper. The stills would have been charged with wash and low wines from specific

charging vessels. In line with 1823 licensing legislation a spirit safe would be

installed at the distilleries and an excise officer would be stationed at each licensed

premises.

The resulting spirit, the whisky, was certainly influenced by the environment, the

nature of the distillery and the manner in which it was produced. The distilleries

used malted bere, or bigg, as their fermentable cereal. Corn was also used. The

choice of grain will have influenced the flavour of the whisky. While it is certain that

Cabrach farms made use of locally grown victual, they were undoubtedly under

necessity of importing grain and malt from Aberdeenshire and the low country more

66

widely. The distilleries were dependant on peat as the main energy source. Thus,

malting which took place in the Cabrach would have used peat in the kilning process,

which would have imported a characteristic smoky flavour. Malt imported from

Aberdeenshire, with greater links to Lowland Scotland, may have been kilned with

coal which will have produced a cleaner tasting malt. All distillery appliances will

have been fired by peat, that is to say hot liquors for brewing and also the stills for

distilling. The whisky was conveyed directly market, in wooden casks, but it did not

receive maturation in warehouses prior to reaching its market. It is likely, however,

that a degree of conditioning of the whisky would have been undertaken by the

retailers/publicans.

The consumption of the final product ranged geographically from the doorstep of the

distilleries to major regional towns such as Aberdeen, Banff, Huntly and Montrose.

The whisky was sold through agents and enjoyed a glowing reputation which was

immortalised in verse. The exalted provenance of Cabrach whisky explains the

distilleries at Blackmiddens and Lesmurdie using ‘Cabrach’ and ‘Buck’, a major

Cabrach landmark, as their distillery names. The reputation of Cabrach whisky was

built, to an extent, on the illicit whisky which preceded the licensed stills. This report

has shown the nature of illicit distilling in the Cabrach and the practice of smuggling.

The importance of producing and smuggling whisky to the Cabrach was economic,

but it had a profound cultural impact. Whisky allowed an independence to subsist in

an isolated district of rural Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, which at times was placed

in direct opposition to agencies of the British state and survived malign forces of

nature such as extreme weather and crop failure. The demise of the distilling

industry after 1850 coincided with population decline. The story of Cabrach whisky

begins before 1823 and it is hoped that the establishment of a whisky distillery in the

Cabrach in the 21st century renews the fruitful association of the parish and distilling

and rejuvenates the fortunes of this once-great whisky-producing district.

67

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13. Author Biographies

Kieran German received his PhD in history from Aberdeen University in 2011 with a

thesis exploring Jacobitism and Scots Episcopacy. His research specialisms have

evolved to include the origins and emergence of the Scotch whisky industry in the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and he has conducted a number of research

projects for Scotch whisky companies. Kieran has held research fellowships with the

Andrew Mellon Foundation and the European Commission’s Cliohres Network. He

has taught at the Universities of Aberdeen and Strathclyde.

Gregor Adamson received a Master of Science in Environment, Heritage and Policy

from the University of Stirling in 2015. His dissertation focused on illicit and licensed

distilling on the Isle of Arran throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Gregor was

subsequently involved in further research into the history of distilling practices on

Arran in conjunction with The Isle of Arran Distillery.

14. Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Nicole Austin, Dennis McBain; Andy Fairgrieve; Dr Daniel

MacCannell; Professor Allan Macinnes (Strathclyde); Professor Steve Murdoch (St

Andrews); Peter and Patti Nelson; Neil and Martin Sheed; Alan Winchester

(Miltonduff Distillery).