Banff
Speyside
1863 – 1983Malt
Demolished
Coastal Speyside malt famed for a light, grassy character. Bombed during WWII in a raid on a nearby airfield and finally closed in 1983.
Lost Distilleries
A curated reference to the closed, silent and demolished malt and grain distilleries whose whiskies are now the stuff of legend.
This is the roll call of Scottish and Irish distilleries that fell silent — from the DCL rationalisation of 1983 to modern closures. Some buildings still stand, others are gone forever, and a rare few have been revived. In The Whisky Game these ghosts return as Lost Distillery cards.
Region
Type
Status
Silent — may be re-opened · Dismantled — buildings still exist · Demolished — gone forever.
Showing 41 of 41 distilleries.
Coastal Speyside malt famed for a light, grassy character. Bombed during WWII in a raid on a nearby airfield and finally closed in 1983.
Grain-still operation added to the Ben Nevis malt distillery under Joseph Hobbs. Dismantled in 1981; the malt distillery still runs today.
Short-lived malt stills operated inside the Invergordon grain complex. Only a handful of independent bottlings ever surfaced.
Collector's note: Very rare — final casks being bottled.
Legendary heavily-peated Highland whisky produced during the 1970s energy crisis. Silent since 1983, the distillery was resurrected by Diageo in 2021.
Edinburgh grain giant that once dominated the city's skyline. Closed in 1988 and demolished except for the distinctive chimney which still stands.
Historic Clackmannanshire grain distillery central to Diageo's blends. Warehousing continued on-site long after production ended.
Built as Glen Grant No. 2 and long connected by a pipe carrying spirit across the road. Mothballed in 2002 and dismantled in 2011.
One of the earliest Scottish grain distilleries, based in Alloa. A founding member of DCL; closed in 1983 during industry-wide rationalisation.
Small Speyside distillery used mainly for blends. Buildings survive as an events venue but production never restarted.
Northern Irish distillery once making pot-still whiskey favoured at Westminster. Grain production continued longest; closed for good in 1978.
Dufftown malt closed in the 1980s downturn. The buildings were sold to William Grant & Sons in 1990 and now house Glenfiddich warehouses.
Mothballed in 1983 and preserved intact by Historic Scotland as a working museum near Forres — a rare snapshot of Victorian whisky-making.
Massive red-brick grain plant on the Clyde built by Hiram Walker, once producing Ballantine's grain. Silent since 2002 and demolished from 2013.
Also known as: Old Midleton
The original Midleton distillery, home to the world's largest pot still. Superseded by the new Midleton plant in 1975 and preserved as a museum.
Grain arm of the vast Moffat/Airdrie complex that also housed Glen Flagler and Killyloch. Dismantled in the mid-1980s and rarely bottled.
One of three Inverness distilleries lost together in 1983. Demolished to make way for a supermarket; independent bottlings are increasingly scarce.
One of the malt streams inside the Moffat/Airdrie complex. Bottled briefly under its own name in the 1970s; independent releases are scarce.
Collector's note: Very rare — few casks remain.
Inverness malt praised by Neil Gunn for its perfumed, complex spirit. Demolished in 1986, its site now hosts a retail park.
Lomond-still spirit produced at Glenburgie to add a heavier component to Ballantine's blends. Discontinued in 1981; independent bottlings are prized.
Collector's note: Rare — few casks for independent bottling. Notable for Lomond stills.
Also known as: Hillside
East-coast distillery that switched names several times (Highland Esk, North Esk, Hillside, Glenesk). The maltings survived and still supply Diageo.
Fort William distillery closed in the 1983 DCL cull. The kiln and warehouse remain; the still house was demolished.
The easternmost mainland distillery, near Peterhead. Sold to an engineering firm after closure; virtually all buildings were demolished.
Stonehaven distillery granted the 'Royal' warrant by William IV. Closed in 1985 and the site converted to housing; old-vintage bottlings are prized.
Carron-based malt with a chequered production history. Demolished in 2013 to make way for Chivas Brothers' new Dalmunach distillery.
Malt stills housed inside the giant Dumbarton grain complex. Dismantled in 2005; some equipment was moved to the Bruichladdich site.
Only five years of production inside the Moffat complex. Bottles are among Scotch whisky's true unicorns.
Collector's note: Extremely rare — collector bottles.
The last malt distillery ever built in Glasgow, tucked inside the Strathclyde grain plant. Only 17 years of production make its bottlings genuinely scarce.
Collector's note: Very rare — few casks remain.
William Grant's short-lived Ayrshire malt sitting inside the Girvan grain complex. Only nine active years and a handful of single-cask releases exist.
Collector's note: Very rare — few casks remain.
Also known as: Dunglass
One of Scotland's oldest recorded distilleries. Produced a peated experiment called Dunglass. Silent from 1994 and destroyed by fire in 2004.
Montrose plant unusual for producing both malt and grain on one site. Owned by Spanish group DYC and demolished in 2005 to make way for flats.
Tiny Islay distillery built inside Lagavulin to recreate a bygone Islay style. So rare it inspired the plot of the film 'The Angels' Share'.
The last of the three Inverness distilleries to fall silent. The still house was converted into a Beefeater restaurant beside the A9.
Lomond-still spirit made inside Miltonduff between 1964 and 1981. Very few independent bottlings ever appeared.
Collector's note: Very rare — few casks remain.
Small Alloa grain distillery converted from a former brewery. Operated only briefly; stocks are unusual and infrequently seen.
Also known as: Brechin
Brechin farm distillery run by the Guthrie family for generations. Closed in the 1983 DCL rationalisation and demolished for a supermarket.
County Down pot-still distillery whose robust style survived in ex-warehouse stock long after closure. Independent releases are highly collectable.
Modern Dufftown distillery built as a Dufftown sister. Just 18 years of production; ageing stocks now yield well-regarded independent bottlings.
Collector's note: Only 18 active years, well-rated, 20+ y/o bottles still reasonably priced — worth collecting.
Glasgow grain workhorse for two centuries, feeding Diageo's blended whiskies. Closed in 2010 and fully demolished a few years later.
Iconic Islay malt closed in 1983 whose smoky, coastal spirit became a collector's grail. The distillery was reopened by Diageo in 2024.
Falkirk triple-distilled Lowland regarded as one of the region's finest. After long silence and a rebuild, Rosebank returned to production in 2023.
Also known as: Linlithgow
Ancient Linlithgow malt that ran for over two centuries. Closed in the 1983 cull; the main buildings survive but were converted into flats.