The Cairn Whisky Distillery Coming to Grantown

Gordon & MacPhail the well known whisky company based in Elgin are currently building a new malt whisky distillery about a 1.5 miles outside Grantown on the Aviemore road. Work began in 2019 and was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic but construction is now going well with an anticipated completion date at the end of 2021 and opening to the public in Spring 2022.

The Cairn Location & Brand

Situated at Craggan on the north bank of the River Spey, the new distillery looks south towards the Cairngorm mountains. The vista from a viewing gallery will be unique and heavily influenced the choice of name. The first distillery to be built in the Cairngorms Nation Park since it was created in 2003, the new distillery will be at the gateway to the Speyside Whisky Trail leading down the Spey from Strathspey to Speyside and the numerous well known established distilleries. The Cairn was chosen from a list of 300 potential names, mainly because the name had to be easy to pronounce and spell in their large overseas market. When complete it is expected to produce 440,000 gallons of whisky a year.

The name of the whisky is reflected in the brand logo of a cairn; a pile of irregular stones gathered usually to mark the summit of a hill or view and frequently seen while out walking in the area

The design of the new distillery does not follow conventional distillery styles lacking a pagoda and adjoining bond houses. The visitor centre will host tasting rooms, retail space and coffee shop with a projected footfall of 50,000 visitors a year.

This is a very welcome and much needed project for Grantown and will hopefully provide more employment and raise visitor numbers to the town. Really looking forward to its opening and being able to take visitors to this new attraction on the Malt Whisky Trail.