Glenglassaugh reports profit ahead of time

Glenglassaugh Distillery in Aberdeenshire, which lay disused for over two decades, has outperformed expectations and turned a profit just three years after being reopened.

The distillery, which closed by then owner the Edrington Group in 1986, achieved a £1m turnover in 2011 with a £100,000 profit.

It had been forecast that the distillery, which was reopened in 2008 by a group of private investors, would not turn a profit for at least seven to ten years.

Stuart Nickerson, managing director of Glenglassaugh Distillery, said the result was down to a loyal following in Europe for its namesake range, large export business to 25 countries plus the group’s small cask ownership scheme.

“(One) key to our success has been to sell small casks – octaves – to both corporate and private customers,” he said. “The barrels are filled with spirit and are left to mature for up to seven years. Customers range from international whisky clubs to brides looking for a special wedding present for their husband-to-be. I don’t know of any other distillery selling new-make spirit in this way and it has proved to be very, very good business for us.”

The news comes just weeks after Glenglassaugh launched Revival, the first bottling of a single malt Scotch distilled on site under the new ownership.

Glenglassaugh intends to continue producing whisky using the same methods as when the distillery first opened in 1875.