Glengoyne distillery

Illicit stills In the early 19th century, due to the heavy taxes on spirit production imposed by the government, many whisky producers were forced to operate illegally. The area around Glengoyne was full of hills and forests which provided excellent cover for the distillers. Records show that at least eighteen illicit whisky stills were operating in the area. Shortly after the introduction of the Excise Act 1823 (or 'Wash Act' Whisky production The distillery began distilling in 1833 and was known as the Burnfoot distillery. It was originally owned by George Connell who built the distillery and took out a lease on the surrounding land, on which was built a warehouse which is still in use today. it was changed to Glengoyne which comes from 'Glenguin' or 'Glen of the Wild Geese'. Modern era and expansion In April 2003, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd. acquired Glengoyne Distillery, and the 'Glengoyne Single Malt' and 'Langs Blended Whisky' brands. The acquisition of Glengoyne Distillery meant that Ian Macleod became a fully integrated distiller, blender and bottler. Under Ian Macleod, Glengoyne saw a vast increase in output capacity as well as a similar rise in sales. Speaking of the acquisition and planned expansions in 2003, Leonard Russell, managing director for Ian Macleod stated "We'll be aiming to increase sales of the Glengoyne from the current level of 450,000 litres to one million litres next year". Later, speaking in 2005 Russell stated "we continue to make whisky exactly the same way at Glengoyne". The original warehouse built by George Connell is still on the site, as the shop and visitor reception area. Today, Glengoyne has eight working warehouses with a total capacity of nearly two million litres (4.5 million bottles) of spirit. ==Production and character==

Glengoyne Distillery is situated at Dumgoyne, on the south-western edge of the Scottish Highlands, close to Loch Lomond and to the north of Glasgow. Although distilled in the Highlands, making Glengoyne a Highland single malt, the whisky is matured in the Lowlands. This is because the distillery itself sits upon the Highland Line, the division between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland which splits the distillery in two. The boundary line runs underneath the A81 road from Glasgow to Aberfoyle and passes in front of the distillery with the warehouses located to the southwest of the road. The distillery has been in continuous operation producing Highland single malt whisky for over 175 years with a current distilling capacity of over one million litres of alcohol and over 35,000 visitors per annum. Glengoyne and Bruichladdich, is one of only two distilleries remaining today that uses Golden Promise barley, which is low in yield but high in quality. The clear and bright appearance and distinctive flavour of the Glengoyne single malts are credited to this lack of peat smoke. This rare characteristic is utilised in the marketing of Glengoyne with the use of the promotional slogan "The authentic taste of malt whisky untainted by peat smoke". As a result of the use of unpeated malt Glengoyne has been noted as being stylistically closer to a Lowland single malt as opposed to a Highland single malt. ==Products==

At its current operating capacity Glengoyne produces over one million litres of pure spirit (new make spirit) every year Glengoyne 17-year-old was voted "World's Best Single Highland Malt" in the "Best of the Best" whisky tasting, organised by Whisky Magazine. Due to the rapid growth recently of the Scotch malt whisky industry (recent figures indicate a 9% growth in 2002 Current Range Past range ==See also==