Lindores
SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > L
WORK BEGINS ON LINDORES ABBEY DISTILLERY
July 2016
Construction has begun on multi-million pound Lindores Abbey distillery in Fife following a lengthy excavation of the site, with production due to commence in September 2017.
Planning permission for the distillery was granted in 2013, but one of the conditions required founder and managing director Drew McKenzie Smith to dig trenches around the site, which he said had never been properly excavated.
The first trench uncovered an 18-metre abbey wall just five inches below the earth’s surface, though the following 17 trenches revealed no further artefacts.
‘This was a hugely important find that had been sitting there undiscovered,’ McKenzie Smith said. ‘We are hoping to leave this particular trench uncovered so visitors will be able to see it when they come to the distillery.
‘We hope visitors will be enthused by the abbey as much as they are by the distillery.’
Lindores Abbey distillery is located opposite the derelict Lindores Abbey, which is often referred to as the ‘spiritual home of Scotch whisky’.
According to the Exchequer Rolls, Friar John Cor, who is believed to have resided at the abbey, was ordered by King James IV to ‘make aqua vitae eight bolls of malt’ in 1494 – the first written evidence of whisky distillation in Scotland.
Building of the distillery commenced two weeks ago and is expected to last for 14 months. It will feature three copper pot stills, including one wash still and two spirit stills.
Barley will be grown on the farm land surrounding the distillery, which boasts approximately 60 acres, though McKenzie-Smith has not ruled out sourcing additional barley supplies from other farms if needed.
An onsite warehouse will have room to house up to 1,000 casks with partly heated sections to allow Dr Jim Swan – who is working with McKenzie Smith as a whisky consultant – to experiment with maturation.
McKenzie Smith and Dr Swan are currently in the process of sourcing casks, with McKenzie Smith recently travelling to Louisville to explore the possibility of using Bourbon barrels from Woodford Reserve. The team is also looking to source Sherry casks from Spain.
‘I believe our warehouse will be the first of its kind in Scotland,’ added McKenzie-Smith. ‘Experimenting with speed and spirit maturation is the world we live in, but we promised Jim we won’t release the whisky until it’s ready.
‘If it can be done in five years rather than 10, then that’s no bad thing. But we don’t want to do anything to harm the spirit; we’re not about rushing or making anything gimmicky.
‘Personally, I feel that sort of thing undermines a brand, big or small. I don’t see the point in rushing to get something out if it’s not ready.’
If building and production goes according to plan, McKenzie Smith said the first Lindores Abbey single malt Scotch whisky could be ready for release by 2023.
He also hinted at the possibility of bringing out a peated expression in a nod to when monks were given permission to bring 200 carts of peat to the abbey 600 years ago.
In addition, a special bottling may also be created using a specific yeast strain that has been researched at Heriot-Watt University, and could have been used by Friar John.
While he waits for the whisky to mature, McKenzie Smith plans on launching an unaged ‘aqua vitae’ in September 2017.
December 2017
Lindores Abbey distillery is set to begin its first distillation today (13 December), at what has become known as the ‘spiritual home of Scotch whisky’.
Day one: Lindores Abbey distillery will lay down its first casks of whisky today (13 December)
The Fife distillery began its first mash earlier this week, and will later today perform its first spirit cut in a live-streamed event on Facebook (at 2pm GMT).
While the bulk of its lightly-peated spirit will be laid down to mature in ex-Bourbon American oak casks to become whisky in three years’ time, Lindores Abbey will bottle a proportion as aqua vitae – a spirit flavoured with herbs and spices.
Initially available exclusively at the distillery, Lindores Abbey Aqua Vitae will feature botanicals that would have grown on the historic site in the late 15th century, and will eventually include fruit and honey produced at the distillery’s beehives and orchards.
Lindores Abbey is often associated with the first written reference to distillation in Scotland, a note in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls that by order of King James IV, ‘eight bols malt’ be supplied to Friar John Cor to produce ‘aqua vitae’ – the water of life.
As Cor resided for a time at Lindores Abbey, the Newburgh ruin has become regarded as a significant landmark in Scotch whisky history.
Gary Haggart, distillery manager at Lindores Abbey, who previously ran Cragganmore distillery in Speyside, said: ‘Distilling the first spirit at Lindores Abbey in more than 500 years is such an honour, and with this innovative and world-class distillery behind me, it’s now the task of the team here to produce a Scotch whisky worthy of its spiritual home.’
The distillery, which opened to the public in October, features a visitor centre and café, as well as ‘apothecary room’ where visitors have the opportunity to create their own aqua vitae.
Following the first distillation, owners Drew and Helen McKenzie Smith will offer a select number of single malt casks for private ownership, while membership to the Lindores Abbey Distillery Preservation Society is also available.
LINDORES’ THABILL HONOURS CHESS TOURNAMENT
April 2019
Lindores Abbey is commemorating an ‘all-star’ chess tournament taking place at its distillery with a limited edition bottling of its Aqua Vitae malt-based spirit.
Lindores Abbey Aqua Vitae Thabill spirit chess tournament limited edition release
Whisky game: Lindores Abbey’s Thabill release highlights the distillery’s association with chess
The Lindores Abbey Chess Stars tournament will take place on 25-26 May at the Lowland distillery, with world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, former world chess champion Viswanathan ‘Vishy’ Anand, and three-time Chinese chess champion Ding Liren confirmed to play.
Thabill combines Lindores’ Aqua Vitae botanical spirit with 18-month-old malt spirit that has been maturing in oak casks from Thiron-Gardais in France, which is also home to Lindores’ sister abbey, Tiron.
The name ‘Thabill’ refers to a 1480s inventory of the abbey which mentioned ‘twa pairs of thabills wt thair men’ – translating into today’s English as ‘two chessboards with their pieces’.
According to Lindores Abbey distillery, the record showed that ‘chess has been a part of the abbey’s history for more than 500 years, and this spirit is a fitting tribute to the game of kings’.
A total of 500 bottles will be sold online on the Lindores Abbey website and in the distillery’s shop for £150 a bottle.
A proportion of the proceeds from Thabill’s sales will be donated to the distillery’s chosen charity, STAR, which offers centres for siblings separated in foster care to be reunited.
Tickets for game-side seats are invitation-only, but the tournament will be streamed on screens throughout the distillery’s visitor centre for the public to watch.
Lindores Abbey started production in December 2017.
Considering its historical importance, Lindores Abbey distillery has been built as an aesthetically sympathetic monument to the 800-year-old Tironensian structure, using local wood from Denmylne and stone from Clatchard Quarry.
Lindores’ one wash still and two spirit stills will produce a lightly peated Lowland malt (the site lies just on the border with the Highlands) using barley grown on neighbouring farms and around Fife, and malted at Muntons. Maturation will be conducted on-site in a purpose-built dunnage warehouse, 25% of which will be heated to increase the rate of maturation.
The heated warehouse won’t be the only curiosity at Lindores: a special strain of yeast that may have existed in the 15th century is being replicated in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, and will be used to produce a limited edition single malt. In addition, instead of producing a gin, a percentage of Lindores’ new make spirit will be put aside to produce ‘aqua vitae’ – a malt spirit macerated with local herbs like sweet cicely, which grows abundantly on the banks of the River Tay. Eventually, fruit from the Abbey’s newly-planted orchard will also be incorporated.
Above all, the Mackenzie Smiths have plans to create a ‘world class visitor attraction’ with Lindores, educating guests on the Tironensian monks’ crafts and way of life, the Abbey’s history as well as the whisky production process.
Built as a daughter house of Kelso Abbey, Lindores Abbey was founded on the edge of Newburgh, Fife, in the late 12th century by the Earl of Huntingdon. Once visited by Kings and Queens, the Tironensian Abbey is now little more than an overgrown ruin. In 1912 the Abbey and a neighbouring farm was sold to John Howison, a farmer in the Carse of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross. The lands were passed down through the generations and are now owned by Howison’s great-grandson and current ‘custodian of Lindores’, Drew Mackenzie Smith and his wife, Helen.
It’s claimed that the first written reference to whisky being produced in Scotland relates to Lindores Abbey. The Exchequer Rolls of 1494 lists that, by order of King James IV, ‘eight bols malt’ be presented to Tironensian monk Friar John Cor to produce ‘aqua vitae’ – the water of life. It’s thought that Friar Cor resided at Lindores, and the Abbey has become known as the ‘spiritual home of Scotch whisky’.
Mackenzie Smith had long considered building a distillery at Lindores, and finally embarked on a £10 million project in 2013, with backing from three European investors. An excavation of the land adjacent to the Abbey – a former farm steading used as a dairy – revealed an ancient 18-metre wall just five inches below the earth’s surface.
The excavation and subsequent archaeological investigations delayed construction until July 2016. Lindores Abbey’s ‘world class’ visitor centre eventually opened to the public in October 2017, with distillation due to begin imminently.
According to Mackenzie Smith, despite Lindores’ historical roots the company has faced at least one trademark challenge from consumer brands over the use of the Abbey’s name. As such the distillery will never produce a chocolate liqueur to avoid a battle with Lindt, producer of Lindor chocolate.
CAPACITY (MLPA) i
225.000 Ltrs
CONDENSER TYPE i
Shell and tube
FERMENTATION TIME i
Two washbacks at 72 hours;
two washbacks at 96 hours
FILLING STRENGTH i
63.5% abv
GRIST WEIGHT (T) i
2
HEAT SOURCE i
Kerosene-fired Cochran steam boiler
to Internal Stainless-steel radiator
MALT SPECIFICATION i
0.5ppm
MALT SUPPLIER i
Muntons
MASH TUN TYPE i
Semi-lauter
SINGLE MALT PERCENTAGE i
95%. Other 5% for Aqua Vitae production
SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i
Boil ball
SPIRIT STILL SIZE (L) i
3,500
STILLS i
Three - one wash, two spirit
WAREHOUSING i
Dunnage and racked
WASH STILL SHAPE i
Boil ball
WASH STILL SIZE (L) i
10,000
WASHBACK CHARGE (L) i
10,000
WASHBACK SIZE (L) i
13,000
WASHBACK TYPE i
Wooden (douglas fir)
WASHBACKS i
4
WATER SOURCE i
Borehole
WORT CLARITY i
Clear, using vorlauf
YEAST TYPE i
Anchor Lallemend Distillers Dried Yeast
LINDORES ABBEY Lindores Abbey
Tironensian monks first arrived in Fife some 800 years ago to build an abbey on the banks of the River Tay. Now little more than a ruin, a single malt distillery will rise in its wake.
Considering its historical importance, Lindores Abbey distillery has been built as an aesthetically sympathetic monument to the 800-year-old Tironensian structure, using local wood from Denmylne and stone from Clatchard Quarry.
Lindores’ one wash still and two spirit stills will produce a lightly peated Lowland malt (the site lies just on the border with the Highlands) using barley grown on neighbouring farms and around Fife, and malted at Muntons. Maturation will be conducted on-site in a purpose-built dunnage warehouse, 25% of which will be heated to increase the rate of maturation.
The heated warehouse won’t be the only curiosity at Lindores: a special strain of yeast that may have existed in the 15th century is being replicated in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, and will be used to produce a limited edition single malt. In addition, instead of producing a gin, a percentage of Lindores’ new make spirit will be put aside to produce ‘aqua vitae’ – a malt spirit macerated with local herbs like sweet cicely, which grows abundantly on the banks of the River Tay. Eventually, fruit from the Abbey’s newly-planted orchard will also be incorporated.
Above all, the Mackenzie Smiths have plans to create a ‘world class visitor attraction’ with Lindores, educating guests on the Tironensian monks’ crafts and way of life, the Abbey’s history as well as the whisky production process.
Built as a daughter house of Kelso Abbey, Lindores Abbey was founded on the edge of Newburgh, Fife, in the late 12th century by the Earl of Huntingdon. Once visited by Kings and Queens, the Tironensian Abbey is now little more than an overgrown ruin. In 1912 the Abbey and a neighbouring farm was sold to John Howison, a farmer in the Carse of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross. The lands were passed down through the generations and are now owned by Howison’s great-grandson and current ‘custodian of Lindores’, Drew Mackenzie Smith and his wife, Helen.
It’s claimed that the first written reference to whisky being produced in Scotland relates to Lindores Abbey. The Exchequer Rolls of 1494 lists that, by order of King James IV, ‘eight bols malt’ be presented to Tironensian monk Friar John Cor to produce ‘aqua vitae’ – the water of life. It’s thought that Friar Cor resided at Lindores, and the Abbey has become known as the ‘spiritual home of Scotch whisky’.
Mackenzie Smith had long considered building a distillery at Lindores, and finally embarked on a £10 million project in 2013, with backing from three European investors. An excavation of the land adjacent to the Abbey – a former farm steading used as a dairy – revealed an ancient 18-metre wall just five inches below the earth’s surface.
The excavation and subsequent archaeological investigations delayed construction until July 2016. Lindores Abbey’s ‘world class’ visitor centre eventually opened to the public in October 2017, with distillation due to begin imminently.
According to Mackenzie Smith, despite Lindores’ historical roots the company has faced at least one trademark challenge from consumer brands over the use of the Abbey’s name. As such the distillery will never produce a chocolate liqueur to avoid a battle with Lindt, producer of Lindor chocolate.
Dear Willem
Finally, we have Lindores Single Malt Whisky!
We are delighted to announce that our Scotch Whisky will be made available to buy on 2nd July 2021, a mere 527 years after distillation was first recorded at Lindores Abbey, in 1494.
Our new releases are the Lindores Single Malt Scotch Whisky MCDXCIV (1494) “Commemorative first release” and the Lindores Single Malt Scotch Whisky MCDXCIV (1494), both containing the same exquisite Lowland single malt spirit with the Commemorative release being presented with a label marking the occasion.
Both the Commemorative and the Lindores Single Malt will be available to purchase from a variety of independent retailers and stockists from 2nd July, a full list of which can be found on the Lindores website.
The distillery will be selling the Lindores Single Malt directly or on our website from 2nd July 2021 (limited to 1 bottle per person), but will not be selling the Commemorative. We made the decision to sell this exclusively through our many distributors and whisky shops that have supported us over the last few years, and who we can now in turn support.
It is wonderful to be able to announce a public release date, as we know our fans across the world have been keen to enjoy a sip of whisky history. The Lindores Single Malt will be available for £46 plus postage from our website, and the thinking behind this is that we want all our whisky to be accessible and enjoyed rather than only collected. If people want to enjoy our product they can do so even if they are not fortunate enough to obtain a commemoratively labelled bottle.
In other news, our Legacy bar is open again on Friday nights, and it is wonderful having people join us at the distillery for distillery tours which can now end with and a dram of our very own whisky! We hope to see as many of you as possible in the next few months, and thank you, as always for all your support.
Scotch whisky is increasingly in the headlines these days. Indeed, it seems like every month we hear of new records being broken as bottles fetch eye-watering sums, and old and rare spirits outpace everything from fine wines and gold to prime real estate. You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking of Scotch as a luxury. As …
November 29, 2023
Bottle and glass of Port Charlotte PMC01 scotch|Bottle and glass of Lindores Abbey Friar John Cor Congregation Batch Chapter 2 scotch|Bottle of Glen Scotia Malts Festival Edition 2023: 11 Year Old scotch on a wooden table|Close-up ib a bottle of Gordon & Macphail Glenlivet 1949 scotch|Bottle and glasses of Tamdhu 18 Year Old scotch on a wood table|Bottle of Speyburn 18 Year Old scotch whiskey on a table with a cityscape in the background|Bottle of Glen Moray 21 Year Old Portwood Finish scotch with wooden barrels in background|Bottle and two glasses of Deanston 15 Year Old Tequila Cask scotch on a table|Bottle
Credit: BruichladdichCredit: Lindores AbbeyCredit: Glen ScotiaCredit: Gordon & MacphailCredit: TamdhuCredit: SpeyburnCredit: Glen MorayCredit: DeanstonCredit: BunnahabhainCredit: BruichladdichCredit: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Scotch whisky is increasingly in the headlines these days. Indeed, it seems like every month we hear of new records being broken as bottles fetch eye-watering sums, and old and rare spirits outpace everything from fine wines and gold to prime real estate.
You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking of Scotch as a luxury. As something best drunk old and in a crystal enrobed decanter. As a drink of high society and the well to do.
Ironically, it was not long ago that the upper classes scoffed at whisky And scoff they did; it was decried as the drink for drunks and backward folks.
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The snobbery was, in part at least, down to where Scotch was made, and who made it.
Much of what we recognise as whisky today was first perfected by farmers in the Scottish Highlands.
They did so with small and hand-hammered copper stills, fed with surplus grains from their own farms, or crofts (small, traditional landholdings worked by a single family).
They distilled primarily not for commercial gain but to stave off unforgivably bitter winters and to take the edge off the exhaustion and hardship of agrarian life.
What was left over from their production would be shared amongst villagers, or occasionally exported to the Scottish Lowlands, or to England.
And even during the (many) periods during which commercial distilling was banned, home-distilled hooch was accepted by many rural landlords in lieu of rent.
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Bans were lifted but replaced with ever-increasing taxes and rules designed to restrict production to better regulated, larger distillers.
This drove many backyard distillers underground, and so the smuggling of illicit Scotch exploded. Farmers deployed ingenious ploys to dupe the taxman, the best of which must be the felling and hollowing out of trees to store (and mature) spirit within.
But those crofters who dared to continue crafting their more, ahem, artisanal spirit, were
tainted with a reputation for their lawlessness and primitive, backward ways.
And even though the lawmakers and regulators eventually won—the whisky trade eventually consolidated into a professionalized, recognised pursuit that put the smugglers out of business—that reputation stuck. In many ways,
Indeed, Scotch is as much of a farmer’s drink today as it ever was.
Yes, it has been cleaned up and polished by creative agencies and PR folks. But as for what it is and where it’s made, little has changed.
It feels only appropriate, then, to do so by toasting their memory with our top ten favorite Scotches of 2023.
Lindores Abbey Friar John Cor Congregation Batch Chapter 2
$68
Bottle and glass of Lindores Abbey Friar John Cor Congregation Batch Chapter 2 scotch
Credit: Lindores Abbey
New distilleries usually play it safe. They set up shop in the better-known whisky regions of Scotland—Speyside, Highlands, Islay, and so on. They then age their stock in tried and tested cask types—bourbon and sherry, usually. Sensible.
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Lindores Abbey in the Lowlands—the most obscure of the single malt-producing regions—has taken a few risks, including with their latest cask-strength release, Friar John Cor Congregation Batch Chapter 2.
They’ve matured it in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels, “STR” casks—wood which held red wine before being shaved, toasted, and re-charred—and also in casks that have held both heavily peated whisky and rum.
Absolute mayhem. To be honest, we were almost hoping that this would flop. There’s just far too much going on here.
But, it works. Somehow, all of those wildly eclectic cask influences stand up to each other and form a remarkably complex, well-integrated whisky.
That’s hard to pull off when working with an older spirit, but harder still when the whisky is this nascent.
Slàinte
Helen and Drew McKenzie Smith
Custodians of Lindores Abbey Distillery
Dear Willem
What a month we have had, full of triumphs, trials and tribulations. This is the first issue of the Ragged Staff since we launched our Lowland single malt whisky, and we have been blown away by the response from the whisky buying - and hopefully drinking - public.
It was incredible to witness just how sought-after our whisky was and see it all sell out on the first day – in many shops, in a matter of minutes. We are delighted by our customers’ passion for our product, but the real joy for us is when the bottles are cracked open and people can taste the result of our hard work.
It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying our single malt and sharing their thoughts online. We would like to thank those who have opened their bottles and tasted their part of Scotch history, and hope that others find the special moment to open and share theirs soon! Positive feedback has been flooding in, and it is a very special feeling indeed. We are lucky to have fantastic support from both trade and public and it is incredible to see our bottles of whisky being enjoyed all over the UK and beyond.
However, we would also like to take the time to acknowledge the frustration of some of our customers further afield who have experienced a delay in receiving their bottles. We would like to reassure you that the whole distillery team are working to get your bottles to you as soon as possible. Your patience has been hugely appreciated, and we hope that your first sip of Lindores single malt will prove that good things really do come to those who wait.
Launching your first whisky during a global pandemic, in the confusion of Brexit and using your brand new bottling hall has certainly been challenging, but we are proud of how our small distillery team has risen to the occasion.
The Commemorative release and the Lindores Single Malt are now available to purchase from a range of independent retailers and stockists, a full list of which can be found on the Lindores website. The distillery is selling the Lindores Single Malt directly or on our website (limited to 1 bottle per person), but will not be selling the Commemorative. We made the decision to sell this exclusively through our many distributors and whisky shops who have supported us over the last few years, and whom we can now support in turn.
The Visitor Centre is keeping busy with plenty of tours and people visiting us for a bite to eat and drink. The Friday night bar is in full swing and we hope to be able to start up live music again soon. The orchard is looking great, with lots more trees planted, and our apothecary was even recently transformed into a film set for the day!