Glenury Royal

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > G

GLENURY - ROYAL

19 years old

40 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1976
Bottled 1998
Proprietors: John Gillon & Co, Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

GLENURY - ROYAL

22 years old

40 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1976
Bottled 1995
Proprietors: John Gillon & Co, Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

GLENURY ROYAL

13 years old

46 %
Distilled October 1967
Bottled December 1980
Proprietors: John Gillon & Co, Ltd
Wm. Cadenhead, 18 Golden Square,
Aberdeen

GLENURY ROYAL

13 years old

46%
Distilled May 1967
Sherry Wood Matured
Bottled November 1980
Proprietors: John Gillon & Co, Ltd
Wm. Cadenhead, 18 Golden Square,
Aberdeen

GLENURY ROYAL

15 years old

43 %

THE MASTER OF MALT
The Master of Malt, The Pantiles, Kent

Established in 1825, this distillery was originally built as a market for barley in a period of agricultural depression. Glenury Royal is now closed and so supplies of this superb malt are increasingly hard to come by

GLENURY ROYAL

14 years old

62 %

Distilled April 1979
Bottled May 1993

SOCIETY SINGLE CASK CODE: 75.2
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh

Bleek van kleur, als witte wijn. In de neus sherry, vanille en karamel. In de smaak peper, specerijen en likeur. Licht en delikaat. Lange, lichte afdronk.

GLENURY ROYAL

24 years old

53.7 %
SILENT STILLS
Distilled 21.6.73
Bottled 28.10.97
Cask No. 6851
364 bottles
Glenury Royal Distillery John Gillon & Co, Ltd.
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENURY ROYAL

14 years old

43 %
VINTAGE 1978
Distilled 22.11.78
Bottled 2,93
Cask No. 9776-79
1200 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENURY ROYAL

24 years old

56,4 %
VINTAGE 1975
Distilled on 6.8.75
Bottled 25.7.2000
Cask No. 5239
Natural Colour
224 numbered bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENURY ROYAL

23 years old

61.3 %

RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1971
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen John Gillon & Co, Glasgow

Founded in 1825 by local MP Captain Robert Barclay and once powered entirely

by water, this Stonehaven, now 'silent' distillery takes his name from picturesque

Glen Ury in Kincardineshire.

GLENURY ROYAL

29 years old

57.0 %

RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1970
Bottled October 1999
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen John Gillon & Co, Glasgow

This majestic 29 year old (the oldest Rare Malt so far bottled) has a shining gold colour, nutty aromas tinted by oloroso sherry, firm body and honeyed, pistachio nut flavour, all leading to a leafy, long finish.

GLENURY ROYAL

26 years old

52,6 %
Vintage 1975
Cask Strenght
Distilled 6.8.75
Cask No. 5240
Bottled 21.5.2002
192 Bottles
Genummerde flessen
Natural Colour
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENURY ROYAL

50 years old

42,8 %

SPECIAL RELEASES 2003
Fine Cask Strenght Single Malt Whiskies
Distilled 1953
Bottled 2003
Highland Malt Whisky
Hand Finished Bottling
A Unique Limited Bottling
498 specially produced etched Decanters
Genummerde Decanters
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

Glenury Royal's celebrated founder Captain Robert Barclay became the first man to walk a mile each and every hour for 1000 hours in succession an accomplishment that lives in this truly majestic 50 years old single malt whisky.

Captain Barclay 1779 - 1854 A long Way From Ordinary

Although he came from a famous Quaker family, Glenury Royal's founder Robert Barclay took a different view of life. When still a young man, he was drawn to 'The Fancy', an extraordinary group of thrill-seeking Georgian rakes who became the controlling group in sport. They spent their time in drinking, duelling and extravagant sporting wagers, usually based on elaborate feats of endurance. Vast sums were wagered, often by Barclay himself.

Robert found his feet quite literally, as a prodigious long distance walker. In November 1801 after flirting with disaster in earlier wagers, he won the huge sum of 5,000 guineas, walking 90 miles in 21.5 hours. From now on he was to be invincible in pedestrian challenges for ten years. His strenght and endurance were immortalised in a remarkable feat.

Now Captain Barclay, in 1809 he became the first man to walk a mile each and every hour for 1,000 hours in succession - 1,000 miles in six weeks wthout proper sleep. It was worth it. His original wager of 1,000 guineas with side bets. These were vast sums, the latter equivalent to many millions today.

His father had been an M P for Kincardineshire and Robert later flirted with the idea too, but instead divided his time between London and country life back at Ury, the family seat at Stonehaven, on Scotland's eastern coast. By 1825 his distillery at Ury had been esta¬blished, named after the picturesque Glen Ury. In 1835 he successfully petitioned King Wil¬liam IV for the right to call The Royal Glenury Distillery.

Glenury Royal (as it became known) closed in 1985 and the buildings have since been taken down, but Captain Barclay's list of accomplishments lives on in this truly majestic 50-year-old single malt whisky from his old distillery. Made prior to its last rebuilding in two direct coal-fired stills, at a distillery that still malted its own barley, its mash tun, rummagers and barley hoists still driven by water wheel, this is a unique reminder of another age.

There's a precedent for the present release, though so rare is this old malt whisky now that there can be no successor. Back in 1996, judges at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition gave its antecedent, a mere 23 year old, the Ian Mitchell Memorial Trophy for most outstanding Single Malt Scotch Whisky of all. Golden, nutty and unctuous, with a leafy, long finish, that cask-strenght Rare Malt drank very well straight. Those who had the good fortune to sip it will certainly look forward to the present, even rarer and much older release.

Very old whiskies can be far too woody, but this deep amber Glenury Royal has stood up as¬tonishingly well and is full of interest. A wonderfully mellow, complex, highly, aromatic whisky, it has a lovely flavour. Rich, deep and luxurious, there's a real fruit salad of a nose here, full of plums, nectarines, old pears and Muscat grapes. There's marzipan and al¬mond oil too, together with the rich aroma of chestnuts roasting. A very small amount of water brings up the nose and freshens it: it is wonderfully aromatic, complex and well integrated.

The rich, smooth theme is carried on in the body, described by one taster as 'a whole box of liqueur chocolates concentrated into a tasting glass. Dark chocolate, variously filled with coffee and cherry liqueurs. Perhaps even peppermint'. It is smooth and sweet, with some waxy, nutty almond flavours. Like its prize-winning 1996 sibling, it drinks very well straight, but a tiny drop of water smoothes out the finish. The finish is mellow and as you might hope, very long-lasting, remaining fragrant for some time.

Notes

Our taster's comment: 'As good as it gets. Beyond price - as I'am sure it will be! Michael Jackson.

A SAFE BET? AS Captain Barclay would surely agree.

GLENURY ROYAL

Aged 31 years

50,6 %
SIGNATORY VINTAGE
CASK STRENGHT COLLECTION
Distilled on: 21/06/1973
Bottled on: 19/01/2005
Matured in a Sherry Hogshead
Cask No. 6859
211 Numbered Bottles
Natural Colour
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENURY ROYAL

Aged 20 years

50.0 %

RAREST OF THE RARE
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
CASK STRENGHT
Unique Whiskies of Distinction
A Historic Collection of
Cask Strenght
Single Cask Whiskies
from Distilleries which no longer exist
Distilled: 07.1984
Bottled: 06.2005
Cask no. 3048
281 Numbered Bottles
Fons et Origo
D.T.C.
No Chill Filtering or
Colourings of any kind
Duncan Taylor & Co, Ltd,
Huntly, Aberdeenshire

Glenury Royal distillery was built in 1825. Although the distillery was renovated and expanded in the 1960's the distillery was mothballed in 1985. The premises were sold for redevelopment in 1992 and have subsequently been demolished. The ground has now been turned into a housing estate.

GLENURY ROYAL

36 year old

51,2 %

SPECIAL RELEASES 2005
Fine Cask Strenght Single Malt Whiskies
Distilled 1968
Bottled 2005
American Oak Refill Casks
Highland Malt Whisky
Limited Edition
2100 etched Decanters
Numbered Decanters
Scottish Malt Distillers, Elgin

Glenury Royal was rebuilt in 1966, so the present bottling comes from early in its 'modern' period. The distillery closed in 1985.

GLENURY ROYAL

Aged 22 years

50,5 %

RAREST OF THE RARE
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
CASK STRENGHT
Unique Whiskies of Distinction
A Historic Collection of
Cask Strenght Whiskies
from Distilleries
which no longer exist
Distilled 07.1984
Cask no. 3046
Bottled: 11.2006
287 Numbered Bottles
Fons et Origo
D T C
No Chill Filtering or
Colourings of any kind
Duncan Taylor & Co, Ltd,
Huntly, Aberdeenshire

Glenury Royal distillery was built in 1825. Although the distillery was renovated and expanded in the 1960's the distillery was mothballed in 1985.

The premises were sold for redevelopment in 1992, and have subsequently been demolished. The ground has now been turned into housing estate

GLENURY ROYAL

28 years old

46 %
GORDON & MACPHAIL
RARE OLD
A SPECIAL SINGHLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY FROM
GLENURY ROYAL DISTILLERY
Distilled 1984
Bottled 2012
LOT NO: RO / 12 / 05
This exclusive Lot is Limited
to 430 Bottles
Natural Colour
Non Chill Filtered
Selected, Matured and Bottled by
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

GORDON & MACPHAIL, Elgin

Since 1895 Gordon & Macphail has worked with the majority of Scotland’s distilleries and

today, matures, selects and bottles some of the world’s finest and rarest Singl Malt Scotch Whiskies.

Glenury Royal was founded in 1824 at the fishing port and resort of Stonehaven. One of only

three distilleries in Scotland to have permission to use the word “Royal, the distillery was

mothballed in 1985 and subsequently demolished.

Founded in 1824 by Captain Robert Barclay, the Laird of the Ury district, the distillery was to be

situated in the fishing port of Stonehaven. Sadly, after closure in 1985 the distillery was de –

molished and replaced with a housing development. All that remains is a plague, commemorating

the distillery, on the base of the original chimney.

TASTING NOTES:

Crisp and fresh with green apples and sweet vanilla. The Palate has chilli spice flavours with a

floral edge and a hint of dark chocolate.

The Eastern Highlands
GLENURY ROYAL

Stonehaven, Kincardineshire. Licentiehouder: John Gillon & Co, Ltd. Onderdeel van United Distillers Ltd. Eigendom van Guinness.
Op 23 September 1993 werd Glenury Royal ontmantald.
Glenury Royal werd in gesticht in 1825, de naam komt van de Glen waarin het district Ury is gelegen.
In die jaren heerste er een recessie in de landbouw en de landheer en ook parlementslid voor Kincardine, Captain Robert Barclay (1779 - 1854) stichtte de distilleerderij om de boeren de afzet van hun gerst te verzekeren.
Captain Robert Barclay was een progressieve, dynamische man, hij introduceerde het Lei-cesterschaap en het Durham rundvee in het noord-oosten van Schotland en de jaarlijkse veemarkt te Ury trok veekopers uit geheel Engeland.
Ook werd hij bekend door zijn lange voettochten, in 1799 liep hij van Londen via Cambridge naar Birmingham, een afstand van 150 mijl, in twee dagen en in 1801 liep hij van Ury naar Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, 300 mijl in vijf dagen. In 1808 was hij de eerste man die 1000 mijl liep in 1000 achtereenvolgende uren.
Op 5 Januari 1833 werd door Barclay, Macdonald & Co, voor het eerst accijns betaald: E 2,783.
Barclay had een vriend aan het Engelse hof, aangeduid als 'Mr. Windsor', door wiens invloed hij toestemming kreeg van Koning William IV, het predikaat 'Royal' te voeren.
Barclay had geen opvolger en in The Aberdeen Journal van 8 Januari 1847 werd Glenury Royal te koop aangeboden.
18 Februari 1857 werd Glenury Royal gekocht door William Ritchie te Glasgow en Stone-haven.
In Mei 1925 toen Captain W.H.Ritchie en H.O. Ritchie de eigenaars waren van Glenury Royal, sloot de distilleerderij wegens de heel moeilijke periode die de whiskyindustrie toen doormaakte.
Glenury Royal werd op 26 Juli 1936 verkocht door Lord Stonehaven voor E 7.500.
Het is mogelijk dat hij de eigenaar was gedurende langere tijd en de distilleerde die op hun beurt Glenury Royal verkochten aan Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd, voor E 18.500 in 1938.
Glenury Royal werd in 1939 weer opgestart om weer te worden gesloten gedurende de tweede wereldoorlog.

Joseph Hobbs werd financieel gesteund door National Distillers of America, en via Train
& Mclntyre, de werkmaatschappij van Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd werden gekocht behalve Glenury Royal, Bruichladdich, Glenlochy, North Esk, Fettercairn, Benromach, Strathdee.
Doel was om na het einde van de Amerikaanse drooglegging Schotse whisky te gaan leveren
naar de Verenigde Staten.
In 1940 verkocht Hobbs voor E 38.000 zijn aandeel aan National Distillers of America en hield er ook een optie aan over om voor E 250.000 aan whisky te mogen kopen.
Glenury Royal was het hoofdkwartier van de A.S.D. en werd verfraaid met toegangswegen, plantsoenen, boomgaarden, ook was er een laboratorium.
In 1953 werd A.S.D. overgenomen door The Distillers Company Limited.
In 1965 - 1966 werd er verbouwd en eerst toen ging men over van waterkracht op electriciteit.
De twee ketels werden sinds 1962 met stoom verhit en in 1965 kwamen er twee ketels bij.
Sinds 1968 werd er niet meer zelf gemout, maar betrok Glenury Royal zijn mout van Glenesk.
Het gebruikte water kwam van de Cowie rivier.
Het meeste van de whisky ging in de blends van John Gillon & Co, Ltd; King William IV.

The distillery stands on the north bank of the Cowie Water, on the outskirts of Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, and takes its name from the glen that intersects the district of Ury. It first appeared in excise records on 5 January 1833, when Barclay McDonald & Co. paid duty of £2,783.
Glenury was founded, partly to provide a market for barley in a period of agricultural depression, by the Laird of Ury. He was Captain Robert Barclay (1779-1854), sometime MP for Kincardine, a progressive farmer who introduced Leicester sheep and Durham cattle to the north-east of Scotland. The annual sale at Ury drew buyers from all parts of Great Britain.
Barclay had exceptional physical strength and distinguished himself as an athlete. In 1799 he walked from London via Cambridge to Birmingham - a distance of 150 miles - in two days. In1801 he walked from Ury to Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, some 300 miles, in five days. In 1808 he became the first man in history to walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 successive hours.
Captain Barclay was the last of his line. The Aberdeen Journal advertised the sale of the Glenury Royal Distillery "by public roup" on 8 January 1847, "at a reduced upset price of £0 sterling". It stated that "this extensive and very complete Malt Distillery is situated . . . within a mile of the seaport of Stonehaven . . . and fifteen miles south of Aberdeen. There will be a station near to it on the Aberdeen Railway, now fast advancing to completion. It is capable of distilling 10 gallons of Whisky annually, and in consequence of the perfect system of Machinery (all propelled by water) the expense of manual labour is greatly reduced. The supply of water is not only abundant at all seasons for every purpose, but is also of excellent quality for distillation, and the Whisky produced at the Works has long stood in high repute both in the Scotch and English markets".
The firm's letter books bore the signature of Barclay McDonald & Co. until 18 February 1857, when the business was bought by William Ritchie, of Glasgow and Dunnottar House, Stone-haven. He made additions and improvements and increased capacity.
One of the makings (now a filling store) was the scene where Captain Barclay was entertained to dinner by two hundred of his neighbours in the Mearns in 1838. It was used by the Ritchies to entertain citizens of Stonehaven and distillery employees at the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and the building of a footbridge over the Cowie Water, which happily coincided in 1887.
Captain W. H. Ritchie, of Dunnottar, and H. O. Ritchie, of Nether-ley, near Stonehaven, controlled the business in May 1925, when the distillery closed, ostensibly for spring-cleaning and plant renewal. The whisky industry was going through a difficult time. Glenury had been inactive for a period of uncertain length when it was sold by Lord Stonehaven for £0 on 26 July 1936. It is possible that he had been the ultimate owner for a considerable time and had rented out the premises to the Ritchies on long lease. The purchase was negotiated by

Joseph William Hobbs and Hatim Attari of London on behalf of the Glenury Distillery Co. That company sold the distillery in turn to Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd. for a consideration of £10 in 1938, a year after production resumed. Then, in the second world war, it stopped again.
ASD had been formed by Hobbs (1890-1963), the son of a Hampshire farmer, who had emigrated to Canada in childhood. He had made a fortune in shipbuilding and property. After sustaining heavy losses in the slump of 1931, he returned to Britain with less than a thousand pounds, and with the help of financial backers, began to buy run-down assets in the Scotch whisky industry. A year after the outbreak of war in 1939 had interrupted Scotch whisky production, he sold ASD for £30 and an option to buy whisky valued at £20.
Hobbs built roads into the distillery, landscaped the site and laid out gardens planted with flowering shrubs and trees. Glenury acted as the "control office" for all of ASD's distilleries, with a headquarters staff and a small laboratory. A pair of miniature pot stills, used as working models in the laboratory, is preserved.
ASD was bought from National Distillers, a large American corporation, by The Distillers Company Limited of Edinburgh in 1953. Glenury has been worked since then by Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd., a DCL subsidiary.
The main source of power at that time was the water wheel that drove the gearing for the mash tun, the sack hoist at the barley loft, the switchers in the tun room and the rummagers inthe wash stills. There was no steam engine, although electric motors may have been used for pumping. Electric power did not replace water power until the major reconstruction of 1965-66. This entailed the erection of new malt deposits and a new mill-room, the rebuilding of the mash house and tun room, together with the enlargement and re-equipment of other buildings, notably the stillhouse. The number of stills was increased from one pair, heated by steam since 1962, to two pairs. Glenury ceased to make its own malt in 1968, when SMD began production at Glenesk Makings, Montrose. Glenury's two maltings date from the nineteenth century: one is used as an empty cask store and the other as a filling store. The two kilns that linked them were demolished in 1979 to improve the limited access for road haulage vehicles.
The distillery stands on an uphill and downhill site of 2 acres (0.8 hectares), adjoining 14 acres (5.7 hectares) of farmland, also owned by SMD and let to tenants. The area is triangular and is bounded by the river, the railway line, and the road to Netherley. It is said that the site was originally occupied by a woollen mill.

Glenury draws its water supply from the Cowie, by way of a lade or millstream. The river holds salmon, sea trout and brown trout. The town supply is used for fire hydrants and for domestic purposes:
The distiller's licence is held by John Gillon & Co. Ltd., blenders of King William IV Scotch whisky. They bottle a small proportion of the output as Glenury Royal malt whisky.

October 2005
Diageo has announced that its 2005 Annual Rare Malts Selection will be the last.
The collection will consist of four cask strenght single malts from closed distilleries; Glen Mhor 28 years old, Millburn 35 years old, Glendullan 26 years old and Linkwood 30 years old.
Dr. Nicholas Morgan, global malts marketing director commented: 'As the Special Releases are now well established, it makes less sence to continue selecting and promoting a parallel series of Rare Malts with his own separate indentity'.In future, all premium and rare whiskies will be made available in the annual Special Releases series

GLENURY ROYAL 50 years old 42,8 %
His father had been an M P for Kincardineshire and Robert later flirted with the idea too, but instead divided his time between London and country life back at Ury, the family seat at Stonehaven, on Scotland's eastern coast. By 1825 his distillery at Ury had been established, named after the picturesque Glen Ury. In 1835 he successfully petitioned King William IV for the right to call The Royal Glenury Distillery.
Glenury Royal (as it became known) closed in 1985 and the buildings have since been taken down, but Captain Barclay's list of accomplishments lives on in this truly majestic 50-year-old single malt whisky from his old distillery. Made prior to its last rebuilding in two direct coal-fired stills, at a distillery that still malted its own barley, its mash tun, rummagers and barley hoists still driven by water wheel, this is a unique reminder of another age.
There's a precedent for the present release, though so rare is this old malt whisky now that there can be no successor. Back in 1996, judges at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition gave its antecedent, a mere 23 year old, the Ian Mitchell Memorial Trophy for most outstanding Single Malt Scotch Whisky of all. Golden, nutty and unctuous, with a leafy, long finish, that cask-strenght Rare Malt drank very well straight. Those who had the good fortune to sip it will certainly look forward to the present, even rarer and much older release.
Very old whiskies can be far too woody, but this deep amber Glenury Royal has stood up as-tonishingly well and is full of interest. A wonderfully mellow, complex, highly, aromatic whisky, it has a lovely flavour. Rich, deep and luxurious, there's a real fruit salad of a nose here, full of plums, nectarines, old pears and Muscat grapes. There's marzipan and almond oil too, together with the rich aroma of chestnuts roasting. A very small amount of water brings up the nose and freshens it: it is wonderfully aromatic, complex and well integrated.
The rich, smooth theme is carried on in the body, described by one taster as 'a whole box of liqueur chocolates concentrated into a tasting glass. Dark chocolate, variously filled with coffee and cherry liqueurs. Perhaps even peppermint'. It is smooth and sweet, with some waxy, nutty almond flavours. Like its prize-winning 1996 sibling, it drinks very well straight, but a tiny drop of water smoothes out the finish. The finish is mellow and as you might hope, very long-lasting, remaining fragrant for some time.
Notes
Our taster's comment: 'As good as it gets. Beyond price - as I'am sure it will be! Michael Jackson.

1994

Glenury Royal 23 years old and distilled

in 1971 is launched as a Rare Malt
1999

Glenury Royal 29 years old and distilled

in 1970 is launched as a Rare Malt
2003

Glenury Royal 50 years old is launched:

498 bottles

2005

Glenury Royal 36 years old is launched:

2100 bottles

1824 - 1825
Captain Robert Barclay, M P and Laird of Ury,

founds the distillery which is named Glenury

1835

Captain Robert Barclay receives permission

to use the word Royal by William IV
1854

Captain Robert Barclay dies
1857 - 1858
The distillery is put up for auction and is bought

by William Richie, Glasgow

1928 - 1937
No production takes place
1936

Lord Stonehaven who probably was the owner

of Glenury Royal while the Ritchie family leased

the distillery,

sells the distillery to the Glenury Distillery Company,

with Joseph William Hobbs in it for 7500 Pound
1938

Glenury Distillery Company sells the distillery for

18.500 Pounds to Associated Scottish Distillers

(A.S.D.) where Joseph Hobbs is one of the owners
1940

National Distillers of America buys A.S.D
1953

Distillers Company Limited (D.C.L.) buys A.S.D.

from National Distillers of America

Glenury Royal is transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers

Ltd (S.M.D.)
1965

Substantial refurbishing takes place and the number

of stills double to four

1968

Own Maltings cease

1979

Maltings demolished
1983

Glenury Royal is mothballed
1992

United Distillers Ltd decides not to open Glenury Royal

for production,and sells the buildings to an estate company

The distillery's founder Captain Robert Barclay, was a local Member of Paliament.
Glenury Royal was given permission by king William IV to style its whisky 'Royal,
after a friend of captain Barclay's influenced the King's decision.
Many of Scotland's distilleries will claim to have royal connections, but only three
have ever been entitled to the 'Royal'epithet. Aside from Glenury Royal, Royal Brackla
was the first distillery to be granted a Royal Warrant in 1835, followed by Lochnagar in
1848

.
In 1940 Glenury Royal was bought by National Distillers of America, and in 1953 Distil-
lers Company Limited (D.C.L.) now Diageo, bought Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd
from National Distillers of America.
In 1965 refurbishing were done: the number of stills was doubled to four, in 1968 Malt
production was stopped and Glenury Royal was mothballed on 31th May 1985.
In 1992 the decision to finally cease production was taken in 1992.

Glenury Royal was founded in 1824 at the fishing port and resort of Stonehaven. One of only
three distilleries in Scotland to have permission to use the word "Royal, the distillery was
mothballed in 1985 and subsequently demolished.

Founded in 1824 by Captain Robert Barclay, the Laird of the Ury district, the distillery was to be
situated in the fishing port of Stonehaven. Sadly, after closure in 1985 the distillery was de -
molished and replaced with a housing development. All that remains is a plague, commemorating
the distillery, on the base of the original chimney.

Process- and cooling water was obtained from the Cowie water. The floormaltings
was abandoned in 1968.

The cast iron Mash tun had a capacity of 8.5 tonnes. Fermentation was done in 8 wooden
Wash backs, from Oregon pine, each 45000 litres.

Glenury Royal had 2 Wash stills and 1 Spirit still, onion shaped and indirect heated by steam
coils.

The Wash stills had a capacity of 18.600 litres each, the Spirit still 13.700 litres.

The output was 2.500.000 litres, the last years output was about 1,100.000 litres

Elegant, slightly oily and fragrant, think Oolong tea with a little smoke, Glenury Royal is a lesser spotted malt, though occasionally bottles do appear from independent bottlers. Two releases under the Diageo Rare Malts range showed tropical fruit characters. Even rarer are the distillery’s own bottlings which came out under the names Garron and Downie. The ‘Royal’ suffix was added in its earliest incarnation, thanks to then owner Captain William Barclay being a personal friend of King William IV [see Royal Brackla].

There was, apparently, a distillery on the Ury estate in the early 1820s which had been established by the Duke of Gordon in an attempt to stamp out illicit distillation on his lands. Whether the fire which destroyed this structure was a deliberate act of arson by moonshiners or an accident is unknown. The Duke got his way in the end as one of the main forces behind the reforming 1823 Excise Act which ushered in the birth of the modern Scotch whisky industry.

It was possibly only two years later (sources disagree) that Captain Robert Barclay, then the Laird of Ury, built his own distillery. Barclay was a famous figure: friend of royalty, gambler, improving agriculturalist he was also a noted long-distance walker who, among many other feats, once walked 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for 1,000 guineas.

‘The Walking Captain’ retained ownership until 1858, when he sold it William Ritchie whose descendants ran it until 1938. At this point, Joseph Hobbs bought it for Train & Macintyre, the UK arm of National Distillers of America [see Glenesk]. It was then run as part of T&Ms Associated Scottish Distilleries portfolio which used Glenury as its head office

Not much whisky was made under its new owner. The distillery closed during World War Two and in 1953, NDA’s Scottish venture came to an end, just before the American market went into overdrive. Glenury Royal was then picked up by DCL.

In the mid 1960s, it was expanded and doubled in capacity, but was another which fell victim in whisky’s era horribilis of the early 1980s. The land was sold for housing and the distillery buildings demolished.

1825

Glenury Royal distillery founded

by Capt. James Barclay

1858

Captain Barclay sells the

operation to William Ritchie

1938

Glenury Royal is bought by Joseph Hobbs

for Associated Scottish Distilleries /

Train & Macintyre, the Scottish arm of

National Distillers of America

1953

The distillery is bought by DCL

1985

The distillery is closed and the site sold

to developers

2003

Diageo releases a 50-year-old expression

Glenury Royal had its own vatting and bottling facilities:

small quantities of old Angus, Carron and Downie

are sold in Stonehaven named after coatsel landmarks

in the neighbourhood Glenury Royal distillery.

Diageo

1997 - present (brand)

United Distillers

1986 - 1997 (brand)

Distillers Company Limited

1953 - 1986

Joseph Hobbs

1938 - 1953

William Ritchie & Co

1858 - 1938

Barclay, McDonald & Co

1825 - 1858

Diageo

1997 - present (brand)

PREVIOUS OWNERS

United Distillers

1986 - 1997 (brand)

Distillers Company Limited

1953 - 1986

Joseph Hobbs

1938 - 1953

William Ritchie & Co

1858 - 1938

Barclay, McDonald & Co

1825 - 1858

CAPTAIN BARCLAY

He may have established Glenury Royal distillery, but the whisky achievements of Captain Robert Barclay Allardice pale in comparison with his other exploits. Inexhaustible walker, gambler and pugilist, he was also a friend to Royalty.

Captain Robert Barclay Allardice: gambler, philanderer, long-distance walker and whisky hero.

Of all the enterprising individuals who founded distilleries in the early 19th century, none – not even the legendary Long John Macdonald – possessed the physical strength or inexhaustible energy of Captain Robert Barclay Allardice of Glenury Royal.

Known simply as Captain Barclay (1779-1854), he was one of Britain’s first sporting celebrities, and a keen pugilist who trained England’s champion prize-fighter of the early 1800s. He also won the equivalent of millions of pounds for his triumphs as the country’s leading exponent of ‘pedestrianism’, an extreme form of race-walking.

Furthermore, his feats of strength were legendary: it was said that one of his post-prandial party pieces was to ask a man to stand gently upon the palm of his hand, and then to lift up the fellow and place him atop the dinner table.

Capt Barclay was born on the large family estate near Stonehaven, the son of the Quaker, MP and noted athlete Robert Barclay, 5th of Ury. His father had married Sarah Ann Allardice in 1776 (hence the adoption of the additional surname), and they had eight children before he divorced her on the grounds that she had committed adultery with their footman.

His mother subsequently married the footman and went to live in Norwich. So, when the Captain’s father died in 1797, the youngster stood to inherit the family estate and most of the responsibilities normally assumed by the head of a landed aristocratic family.

He had already succumbed to the joys of gambling and high living while at Cambridge University, however, and become a member of the Fancy – the fashionable set of rich young men willing to sponsor sporting events and wager huge sums on the outcomes. His frequent companion on such occasions was the Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV.

Capt Barclay did not just bet on the performances of other men, however, but frequently backed himself to perform incredibly demanding physical challenges.

His biographer Peter Radford tells how Capt Barclay’s sporting feats became the stuff of legend, reported in the breathless style of the great newspapers of the day.

In 1801, for example, he walked 100 miles in less than 20 hours. In his most famous challenge, he walked 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for a bet of 1,000 guineas.

Capt Barclay had a particular fondness for physical exertion, as his many wagers attest.

Between prodigious feats of strength, stamina and gambling he found time to serve briefly as the Marquess of Huntly’s aide-de camp during the Napoleonic War. He was appalled at the condition and mismanagement of the Army during the disastrous Walcheren campaign in 1809, however, and returned home to his old ways.

Capt Barclay loved the company of prize fighters, and developed rigorous training regimes for his stable of potential champions. He won the then astronomical sum of £10,000 in wagers when his fighter Tom Cribb defeated the American Tom Molyneaux in 1810.

His ‘system of manly corporeal exercises’ was considered highly effective in the promotion of both physical fitness and moral character, and was touted in the Press as an antidote to the degeneracy and sloth of the youth of the day.

Sporting endeavours kept Capt Barclay away from his Ury estate for much of each year, but he would return to the family home for a month or two each summer.

Ury Castle was reputedly a far from homely place – they say it had no door on the ground level, and visitors had to be hoisted up to the first floor in a basket – but the Captain’s spinster sister Rodney (yes, Rodney) kept house there, with the assistance of a few servants, and there was always a warm welcome for the Captain.

Indeed, the Captain became so fond of one young servant that she had a child by him. He took her off to the south of England and their wealthy neighbours were led to believe they were man and wife.

They had a tempestuous relationship, however, and they did not finally walk down the aisle until Mary was about to give birth to their second child. Sadly, both child and wife died soon afterwards.

On his visits home, the Captain continued the programme of agricultural improvements begun by his father. To encourage local arable farmers, he formed a company, Barclay, Macdonald & Co, to build the Glenury Distillery on the north bank of the River Cowie in 1825. He sold shares to local investors and advertised their whisky in London’s popular sporting periodicals.

The venture got off to an unfortunate start. In April, a fire broke out in the maltings, destroying the kiln, grain lofts and malt barn. The following month, one of the workmen fell into ‘the great boiler’ (probably the mash tun) and was horribly scalded, dying of his injuries soon afterwards.

Glenury Royal was eventually demolished well after Capt Barclay's time, having succumbed to the effects of the whisky loch of the 1980s.

Macdonald appears to have departed the business during the 1830s, and the manager John Windsor became a partner in his place. Things seemed to be looking up, as Windsor was appointed ‘Distiller to Her Majesty’ in March 1838 – it is said that Capt Barclay had petitioned his fellow follower of the Fancy, King William IV, to permit him to use the ‘Royal’ prefix before the King’s death.

The Royal Appointment gave rise to an unseemly quarrel, however, when the irascible Captain Fraser of Royal Brackla took issue with the claim that Glenury was the first to receive the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria – he claimed to have received his several months earlier.

In later life, Capt Barclay spent more time at Ury Castle, hunting to hounds, walking enormous distances and entertaining on an extravagant scale. He started his own stage coach service between Edinburgh and Aberdeen and often drove long stages himself: indeed, he once drove a coach all the way from London to Aberdeen, stopping only to change horses.

He visited America, where he met President John Tyler, and wrote a book about his adventures. And he claimed the Earldom of Airth which, had he been successful, might have given him a claim to the throne of Scotland.

At the age of 65, Capt Barclay had a son by a young and hard-drinking local girl. She bore him another son when he was 70 and, after the death of the disapproving Rodney, the couple lived together at Ury Castle.

By then, however, the spendthrift Captain had been forced to sell his stake in the distillery and mortgaged his estate to meet huge debts. Old age finally began to take its toll and he suffered a series of strokes in his mid-70s.

He died, in 1854, after being kicked in the head by a horse.

JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE REMEMBERS GLENURY ROYAL

The latest Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare release celebrates lost Highland distillery Glenury Royal, which fell silent in 1985.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Glenury Royal

Rare beast: Glenury Royal was a victim of the 1980s ‘whisky loch’ and was demolished

The expression is the third in a series of special edition Blue Label blends made using ‘ghost’ whiskies from closed distilleries and other rare single malt and grain whiskies.

It follows the releases of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Brora in 2017, and Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen in 2018.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Glenury Royal has ‘rich and fruity’ Glenury Royal single malt at its heart, along with grain whisky from the closed distillery of Cambus, and single malt from another ‘ghost’ single malt, Pittyvaich.

Johnnie Walker master blender Jim Beveridge OBE and his team also included liquid from Glen Elgin, Inchgower, Glenlossie, Cameronbridge and Glenkinchie in the blend, described as Ghost and Rare’s ‘most indulgent yet’.

‘Shining a light on this hidden treasure of the whisky world is something we’ve wanted to do for some time,’ said Beveridge.

‘This indulgent new limited edition provides us with a wonderful opportunity to explore the remarkable layers of rich fruit found in every drop of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.’

Glenury Royal was established in 1825 by Captain Robert Barclay MP, one of Scotch whisky’s most colourful characters – a gambler, pugilist and the first man to walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours (for a bet of 1,000 guineas).

The distillery was destroyed by fire only a few weeks after opening, earned its ‘Royal’ suffix as a result of Capt Barclay’s friendship with King William IV and, after a chequered history, shut down during the ‘whisky loch’ of the early 1980s. It was demolished and its land sold for housing.

Bottled at 43.8% abv, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Glenury Royal will be available globally from October 2019, with a recommended retail price of £275 per individually numbered 70cl bottle.