All about Knockando distillery

Knockando Distillery was founded in Moray, taking the name from the village Knockando, which means 'little black hill' in Gaelic. They are located in the Speyside region.

The distillery was founded in 1898, by John Thompson. The architecture was done by the famous Charles Doig. Knockando Distillery was one of the distilleries founded during 'Whisky boom' period. 

In just 10 months after starting production, they were forced to close, due to the explosion of Whisky boom and the Pattison Crisis. In 1903, gin producers W. & A. Gilbey bought the distillery.

The company managed the distillery until 1962, when it joined United Wine Traders. In 1972, the distillery was taken over by Grand Metropolitian who merged with Guinness, to form Diageo in 1997.  

Knockando uses the Cardnach Spring as its water source. It was the first distillery to use electricity in Speyside. It has four stills, two wash and two spirit, the shapes of these stills are a variation of typical Speyside stills.

They started sourcing their malt from Diageo's industrial maltings, after giving up floor malting in 1968. The distillery's five warehouses contain a combination of Sherry and oak casks. They don't add any colorings during production.