Coleburn

Coleburn was a Scottish malt whisky distillery in the Speyside region. It was established in 1897 and closed in 1985.

The distillery now serves as the headquarters for Murray McDavid. There are plans to restart distilling in the future.

Coleburn was home to an experimental workshop that explored innovative production techniques. The distillery was capable of producing a range of different malts.

Single malt bottlings are fruity and dry with a trace of smoke in earlier examples. 

When Coleburn was established, it was equipped with two pot stills. The mash tun could process 350 bushels in a single mash and the distillery’s output was around 3000 gallons of whisky per week.

In 1908, special bacterial filters were installed to combat pollution. 

The distillery switched from worm tubs to shell and tube condensers in the 1960s. Further modernisation saw the maltings closed in 1968.

The majority of spirit was matured in ex-bourbon whiskey cask type. However, Coleburn provided spirit for Robertson’s Yellow Label blended Scotch which was "matured in famous sherry casks”.

The only official release was a cask strength 21-year-old, bottled in Diageo’s Rare Malts series. Independent bottler, Gordon & MacPhail, bottled several Coleburn whiskies under their Connoisseurs Choice label. Their final cask was released to mark 125 years of their shop in Elgin. The 47-year-old whisky was distilled in 1972.

The distillery’s dunnage warehouses are now used to mature Murray McDavid’s whisky stocks. The independent bottler also owns the Coleburn brand and has bottled a blend under the name.

Coleburn was founded by blenders, John Robertson & Son in 1897. It was designed by renowned architect, Charles Doig. The location was chosen to take advantage of a branch line from the Great North of Scotland railway.

The distillery founders were charged with contravening the Factory and Workshops Act by failing to send written notice to the local inspector. They also received a fine for failing to securely fence a steam engine and flywheel on site.

A few years later, they were in court again. This time they were accused by local tenants of polluting the burn that supplied their water. In response, the distillery was fitted with percolating filters that reduced the toxicity of its waste.

Another pollution incident occurred in 1947. 800 gallons of whisky was accidentally run off into a local stream. Farmers complained that their cows became dizzy and the sheep were stupified.

Coleburn was sold to the Clynelish Distillery Company in 1915. From there it became part of DCL. Extensive renovations took place in the 1950s and ‘60s. The mash house was rebuilt and the worm tubs were replaced by shell and tube condensers.

Overproduction caught up with the Scotch whisky industry in the 1980s. In response to this "whisky loch", DCL decided to close a number of distilleries. Coleburn survived the first wave of closures but couldn’t escape the second. The final distillation run took place in March of 1985.

The distilling license expired in 1992. Since then, grand plans have been hatched to build a boutique distillery and whisky-themed hotel on the site. However, Aceo Ltd, owner of Murray McDavid, has a 25-year lease on the warehouse buildings.

Murray McDavid runs occasional tours and events as part of the Spirit of Speyside festival. They state that there are plans to bring distilling back to the site with a new generation of Coleburn single malt in the future.