Deanston Distillery Company

Deanston Distillery Company History

Deanston Distillers Ltd was established by blender Brodie Hepburn Ltd to build and operate its new distillery in Doune on the site of a former cotton mill. The conversion of the mill, which was owned by James Finlay & Co. Ltd, took place in 1965 with production starting two years later. Brodie Hepburn, which had also built Tullibardine and Macduff distilleries, had grand plans to make the most of Deanston’s whisky by acquiring an already established blend and using it as a core component of the brand.

However Brodie Hepburn, and with it Deanston Distilleries Ltd., was bought out by Invergordon Distillers in 1972.

The first single malt released by the distillery was under the name Old Bannockburn during the late 1960s and early 1970s, which was also used for the blended Scotch Teith Mill. The first releases bearing the name of the distillery were released in 1974 following the change in ownership.

Following a downturn in the market, Deanston distillery was put into mothballs in 1982, and sold off to Burn Stewart Distillers in 1990 for £2.1 million, when Whyte & Mackay took over Invergordon Distillers.

Burn Stewart established the new Deanston Distillery Company in the same year, and the company remains the licence holder for Deanston distillery following Burn Stewart’s sale to Distell Group in 2013.