Glen Albyn 20 Years Old 1977

One of the lost trio of Inverness distilleries, Glen Albyn stood in the Muirtown area of the city alongside the Caledonian canal and Muirtown Basin. Founded in 1846 by James Sutherland, it was soon converted into a flour mill before returning to whisky in 1884. A key figure at this time was the distillery manager, James Birnie, who was credited with reviving the distillery before leaving as his contribution wasn’t being recognised by the owners. His answer was to build a new distillery (Glen Mhor) across the road from Glen Albyn. Glen Albyn continued to produce before eventually being purchased by the owners of Glen Mhor. Thereafter they were run as separate entities with some rivalry between the distilleries. They were both entirely different whiskies with Glen Albyn being lighter and destined for blends. Eventually, both distilleries were purchased by DCL in 1972 to help provide Highland malt for their own blending needs, before being closed in the widespread cuts of 1983.