Royal Lochnagar is a distillery that John Begg built in 1845 as New Lochnagar, on the south side of the River Dee.1,2,3 It took the name Royal Lochnagar in 1848, after a royal visit.1,4,5 Diageo has run it since 1997.6
Lots of sherry. Needed some time to open up.
Sources disagree on where Robertson's distilleries stood: Diageo and The Courier put Lochnagar north of the Dee, while Barnard and heritage records put earlier distilleries on Begg's site.1,5,7 After the 1823 Excise Act, James Robertson, a former illicit distiller, set up a legal distillery in Crathie.4,6 It burned down in suspicious circumstances in 1824.3,6,8 Robertson then built a distillery called Lochnagar, in 1826 by Diageo's account and in 1825 by Barnard's.1,6,7 A Lochnagar distillery burned to the ground in 1841, in a fire thought to have been started by Robertson's illicit rivals.1,3,5 Difford's Guide instead says Robertson's third distillery survived until it closed in 1860, so Begg first named his own New Lochnagar.4
Begg built New Lochnagar in 1845 on land leased from the Abergeldie Estate, which declined to sell it; Diageo still leases the distillery.1,2,3 On 12 September 1848, at Begg's invitation, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their three eldest children visited.5,8,9 Whiskypedia says this is claimed to be the first ever distillery tour.5,8,9 Begg then received a Royal Warrant, and the distillery added Royal to its name.1,4,5 The Prince and Princess of Wales visited on 15 September 1863.9
John Begg died in 1880, and his son Henry Farquharson Begg took over.1,6,10 When Alfred Barnard visited in 1886, the distillery had supplied the royal palaces and court for 36 years.9,11 He found floor malting with a peat-fired kiln, five washbacks, two old pot stills, a worm tub, and only water-wheels for power.9,11 Henry died in 1896 and the distillery passed to a trust for his children.1,4,6 In 1902 the business became a private limited company.4,6,8 The distillery was rebuilt in 1906.
John Dewar & Sons Ltd. bought John Begg Ltd and the distillery in 1916, ending the Begg family's ownership.3,6,10 Grace's Guide dates the purchase to 1923.3,6,10 In 1925 John Dewar & Sons became part of Distillers Company Limited.6,10,12
15 sources. Something wrong? Report it from the menu at the top of the page.
The distillery stopped in 1940 because of the outbreak of war.1 In 1963 it was rebuilt with a new mash tun, washbacks and stills.1,6,8 Until then, waterwheels and a steam engine had powered the site.1,6,8
United Distillers took over in 1986.6,10 In 1987 the former farm steading was turned into a visitor centre.3 In 2022 it was granted a Royal Warrant as Scotch whisky distillers by appointment to the Queen.8,13,14 This warrant marks its regular supply of goods to the royal household and lets it show the royal arms on its whiskies.8,13,14
The distillery uses water from the Scarnock springs and lightly peated malt.2,6,8 Difford's Guide says its malt comes from the Roseisle maltings near Elgin.15 It has 3 washbacks of Scottish larch wood, the vessels where fermentation happens, though Difford's Guide says the third is not generally used.6,15 Its wort, the sugary water from the mash, ferments in them for a minimum of 60 hours.6,15 Difford's Guide credits the long ferment with helping to make a light spirit.6,15 It has 1 wash still and 1 spirit still.8 Both stills are heated by steam.6,15 Whiskypedia calls the stills plain in shape, while Difford's Guide calls them onion-shaped, with lyne arms that dip downwards.6,15 Its condensers, which turn vapour back into spirit, are worm tubs, where copper worms sit in water.6,15 The worm tubs are run hot, which gives the vapour more contact with copper and a lighter spirit.6,15 Most of its spirit goes into Johnnie Walker Black Label and Blue Label, and Difford's Guide also names Windsor, a blended whisky brand in Korea.8,15 Its buildings are listed at Category B, a legal protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest.3,5
