The story or Glenmorangie distillery begins in 1843 when a farmer by the name of William Matheson built a modest distillery in the Scottish Highlands. The venture may have started small, but the vision was extraordinary.
Little did they know at that time that they were laying the groundwork for one of the most famous distilleries on earth.
According to the Glenmorangie Company, the earliest record of the production of alcohol at Morangie Farm is dated 1703. In the 1730s a brewery was built on the site that shared the farm’s water source, the Tarlogie Spring. A former distillery manager, William Matheson, acquired the farm in 1843 and converted the Morangie brewery to a distillery, equipped with two-second hand stills used to make gin. He later renamed the distillery Glenmorangie.
Like all distilleries in Britain, Glenmorangie suffered terribly between 1920 and 1950, with Prohibition and the Great Depression reducing whiskey sales worldwide.
Towards the end of the Second World War and in the immediate post-war period, the distillery increased production significantly and was running at full capacity by 1948.
The Macdonald family retained ownership of 52% of the company through a complicated stock listing which saw the family hold the majority of the voting shares in the company. In 2004, the company was sold to the French drinks and luxury brand company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for the tidy sum of around £300 million.
Following the change of ownership, the Glenmorangie product line was rebranded to increase its appeal in the overseas luxury goods market. A new, more curvaceous, bottle was introduced and the Wood Finish whiskies were given new names such as The Quinta Ruban, Nectar d’Or and LaSanta.
An interesting fact about Glenmorangie is that the distillery boasts the highest line arms of any distillery in Scotland. This produces the light, clean crisp flavours the brand has become known for. It’s truly a sight to see if you have the opportunity to visit.
Glenmorangie has been the best selling single malt in Scotland almost continuously since 1983, and produces around 10 million bottles per annum, of which 6 to 6.5 million are sold in the UK. Globally, Glenmorangie has a 6% share of the single malt market.