The Cragganmore distillery

The Cragganmore distillery is located near the city of Ballindalloch. This is in the heart of the speyside. 

It was founded in 1869 by a man named John Smith. He was only 36 years old, but had already collected a lot of experience with established brands like Macallan, Glenlivet and Glenfarclas.

The place were Cragganmore lies had been chosen wisely. First of all it lies near the river Craggan Burn. This gave him a good supply of water for the steeping, mashing and distillation.

The other important factor about the location was the railroad to Strathspey. From there he could easily buy all the ingredients and sell his whisky to the world.

But not every start was easy. John Smith had to get the permission to open the distillery from the Lord Sir George MacPerson-Grant. After he managed that he rented a piece of land and started distilling his spirit.

The Cragganmore distillery had a steep rise in the 19th century. In the year 1887 the production was already that big that a special train left Ballindalloch with 19,189 gal. (72,640 Liters) of whisky.