One of Speyside’s great sleeping giants is stirring again. Coleburn Distillery, which has lain dormant since 1985, is being brought back to life.
D&M Winchester Ltd has led the revival, with veteran master distiller Keith Cruickshank and specialist firm Organic Architects also on board.
From mothballs to rebirth
Founded in 1897 and completed two years later under the eye of renowned distillery architect Charles Doig, Coleburn was mothballed in the mid-80s and has since been better known to whisky historians than whisky drinkers. That changes now. Work is underway to transform the site at Longmorn, Speyside, into a fully operational distillery once again, with production targeted for 2027.
Coleburn’s revival sits at the heart of an ambitious masterplan to create a world-class whisky and hospitality centre, complete with whisky lodges, a Pagoda penthouse, and a bistro. The new facility is expected to create significant local employment and eventually produce around one million litres of spirit annually.
It’s a heartening, yet intriguing show of faith in whisky in a tough time for the industry. It feels like production pauses and closures are more common news stories than revivals and openings these days.
Coleburn Distillery is back
A distiller who knows the restart game
To steer the ship in an era as potentially turbulent as this requires a very steady hand. That’s what Coleburn has in master distiller Keith Cruickshank, fresh from a 27-year tenure at Benromach. If there’s anyone qualified to reboot a mothballed distillery, it’s him.
He was there when Benromach restarted in 1998 and rose to distillery manager under mentor Bob Murray. Now he brings that hard-earned experience, along with three decades of Speyside whisky-making know-how, to Coleburn.
He describes the role as an honour and promises to restore distilling at the site with care, precision, and authenticity, producing a spirit rooted firmly in Speyside character.
The distillery has been brought back to life
Building something new from something old
D&M Winchester Ltd commissioned Organic Architects to oversee the design. Known for sustainable distillery builds, the firm wants to blend Coleburn’s historic fabric with modern innovation. Expect a “true sense of arrival,” as they put it, with visitor journeys designed to flow seamlessly through the site.
Director Bari Reid says the project is about marrying low-impact production with a strong sense of place. To ensure heritage isn’t just preserved but reimagined for a modern audience.
The plans are exciting. But nothing sounds quite as the headline of this story.
When the stills eventually fire up, Coleburn will once again join the ranks of working Speyside distilleries. Slàinte to that.
