Glen Ord is the last remaining distillery in the 'Black Isle' in Scotland's Highlands, approximately an hour north of Inverness
Glen Ord Distillery
Muir of Ord
Ross-shire
IV6 7UJ
tel - +44 (0) 1463 872004
fax - +44 (0) 1463 872008
web - www.malts.com
Tours through the Glen Ord distillery - available Monday to Friday all year round plus weekends during summer. £4.00 or free if you join friends of the classic malts
Glen Ord's story
Glen Ord is based in the Highlands about an hour north of Inverness in a small town called Muir of Ord. The surrounding area is referred to as the Black Isle. This is one of the most fertile areas of farm land in Scotland and as a result is reknowned for growing some of the best barley, which is then used by Glen Ord. Unusually, the distillery also malts all its own barley.
Glen Ord takes its water from the fresh supply of 'All't Fionnaidh' ('white burn'). The stream originates from two mountain lochs, the rainwater fed 'Loch Nan Eun' ('loch of the birds') and Lloch Nam Bonnach' ('loch of smoke') which is fed by springs.
The distillery is owned by drinks giant Diageo and is their fourth largest distillery in Scotland, producing over 3 million litres of whisky per year. Despite this, the only current official release from the distillery is the 12 years old, which remains hard to find. Most of the whisky produced at Glen Ord is used in the blending of the Johnnie Walker range, which is a massive global brand. If you search around a number of independent bottlings can also be picked up from Douglas Laing and Cadenhead's among others.
If you ever get the chance to visit Glen Ord take a distillery tour as you get to walk around the working distillery with a very informative guide plus you get to taste the goods at the end, which makes it even more worth while!
Glen Ord's whiskies