Built in 1812 by Captain William Fraser, this single highland malt whisky distillery is situated just outside Nairn near Cawdor Castle, and was originally known as Brackla. Captain Fraser was the first whisky distiller to be granted a Royal Warrant of appointment, by King William IV in 1835. At that time it became known as ‘Royal Brackla’ or ‘The King’s Own Whisky’.

Andrew Usher & Co joined forces with the distillery in the 1860s. Brackla was used in the very first blended whiskies made from malts and grains, a technique said to be developed by Usher. In 1898 Brackla Distillery Co Ltd was formed. The distillery later became under the ownership of John Bisset & Co. and in 1943 became part of Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (SMD).

In 1998 Royal Brackla was acquired by Bacardi as part of the Dewar’s brands acquisition. Today it covers a 13 acre site, and has a distillation capacity of 2.7 million litres of alcohol.

Royal Brackla's core range is the 10 year old single malt. Its house style has been described as a fruity malt, with its distinct chocolate-sweetness.

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Royal Brackla Whisky Distillery

The Royal Brackla Whisky Distillery Est. 1812

The Royal Bracka Distillery was remodeled considerably over the years. During the 1960s it was expanded and modernized in order to significantly increase production, and in more recent times significant investment has been made to further up-grade the facility. Most of the older buildings have been demolished and replaced with modern facilities.

The floor maltings were closed in 1966 and today the distillery has a mash tun, six wash backs, two wash stills and two spirit stills. The water source is the Cawdor Burn.

The distillery was closed between 1985 and 1991, but has now re-opened and is under the ownership of John Dewar & Sons Ltd which is part of Bacardi.

Royal Brackla Distillery is located near the 'famous' Cawdor Castle. If you're a Shakespeare fan, then you may recall this is the castle where Macbeth allegedly killed King Duncan.

At present there is no visitor centre at Royal Brackla.