Knockando Distillery

Knockando was founded by John Thomspon in 1898, and is designed by renowned distillery architect Charles Doig. Knockando was the first distillery in Scotland to be built with electric lighting. The distillery is named after the village where it is located. Its Gaelic name, Cnoc Cheannachd, means ‘Hill of Commerce’. Production started in May 1899. In 1900, the distillery closed and J. Thompson & Co. took over administration. The London-based gin producer W. & A. Gilbey purchased the distillery in 1903, and production resumed. Knockando was linked directly to the Great North of Scotland Railway in 1905, which connected Grantown-on-Spey with the main towns of north-east Scotland. The railway closed in 1965 and has since been dismantled, but the old station building still exists. W. & A. Gilbey merged with United Wine Traders in 1962, forming International Distillers & Vintners. Knockando’s floor maltings was decommissioned in 1968. In 1969, the number of stills was increased to four. International Distillers & Vintners was acquired by Watney Mann in 1972, which in turn was taken over by Grand Metropolitan. In 1997, Guinness and Grand Metropolitan merged to form Diageo.