Millburn Distillery

Image: © Richard Dorrell Taken: 23 Nov 2011

A Mr Welsh allegedly established the Millburn in 1807, located on the eastern side of Inverness on the banks of the Mill Burn. At some point in the mid 1800s, David Rose a local corn merchant was operating the property as a mill. The distillery was renovated in 1876 and sold to A Haig & Co in 1892. Alfred Bernard described the distillery, in his 1887 tour, as “The distillery is about 1 mile from the town on the old Roman Road, that leads to Fort George, and it is situated under the brow of a steep hill, which faces the sea. It has a very handsome appearance and is built principally of stone. The open cooperage, generally an unsightly building is here beautifully with enclosed trellis work, painted a rich green.” After a number of changes in ownership the distillery was acquired by Booth's (Gin) Distillery Ltd. in 1921. The following year they had to rebuild Millburn after a serious fire. Acquired by DCL in 1937 then transferred to SMD control in 1942. DCL mothballed the distillery in 1985. In 1988 the site was sold for property development. The site is now host to a Beefeater restaurant & pub called “The Auld Distillery” on Millburn Road. (Information from whiskymerchants.co.uk).

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