Isle of Jura

It opened as the Small Isles Distillery and was also known over the years as Craighouse, Caol nan Eilean and Jura.^1,2,3 The archive record finds no legal evidence of it before 1831, when it was licensed to William Abercrombie; Whiskypedia says Campbell held a licence in 1810.^1,2,5 Richard Campbell leased it to Norman Buchanan in 1853, and J&K Orr took control in 1867 after Buchanan went bankrupt.³ James Ferguson & Sons of Glasgow took over in 1876 and spent £25,000 rebuilding and upgrading the distillery.^1,2,6 It was reconstructed again in 1884.^4,7 It made 60,339 gallons of whisky in 1884-85 and 65,000 in 1885-86, though the works could make 180,000 gallons.^2,6,8 When Alfred Barnard described it in 1887, it had its own maltings and kiln, one wash still, two spirit stills and four washbacks, where the beer ferments.⁸ Water and gravity did all the work, and its worm tubs, the condensers that turn vapour back into spirit, drew water straight from the stream.⁸

The distillery closed in 1901, during a slump in whisky sales, and was stripped of its plant.^1,2,3 Whisky stocks stayed in the warehouses until 1913, and the Fergusons paid rent until their lease ended in 1918.² In 1920 the laird Colin Campbell removed the roof of the silent distillery to avoid paying rates, a tax on property.²

In 1956 estate owners Robin Fletcher, Tony Riley-Smith and Lord Astor planned to renovate the derelict distillery to help repopulate the island.^2,4 The Isle of Jura Distillery Company Ltd was formed in 1959, and the designer William Delmé-Evans was hired to build a large, modern distillery.^2,9 The archive record says Scottish & Newcastle Breweries backed the company with money, while Grace's Guide says the Leith blender Charles Mackinlay and Company did.^2,9 Whiskypedia lists Charles Mackinlay & Co. as owner from 1960, when it rebuilt and extended the distillery.^1,3 Scottish & Newcastle bought Charles Mackinlay & Co in 1961, and Grace's Guide says it had acquired the distillery too by the time it was running.