Royal Brackla

Royal Brackla is a Highland Scotch whisky distillery on the Cawdor Estate, near Nairn in Scotland. The distillery was built in 1812 by Captain William Fraser of Brackla House and is currently is operated by John Dewar & Sons Ltd for Bacardi. In 1833 Brackla Distillery became the first whisky distillery to be granted a royal warrant by the king. This made Royal Brackla one of only three distilleries to bear the name 'Royal', the others being the active distillery Royal Lochnagar and the demolished distillery Glenury Royal. Queen Victoria renewed Brackla's royal warrant in 1838. Due to restrictions on the use of barley for distilling during the Second World War a majority of Scotch Whisky distilleries closed, including the Royal Brackla Distillery from 1943 until 1945. 1964 saw the distillery close its doors again until 1966 for major reconstruction and re-planning. In 1970 the distillery was expanded by adding a second pair of stills and converting the coal-fired boiler to oil-fired. New racked warehouses were built in 1975 to replace the older traditional warehouses that were still in use at the time. The Royal Brackla Distillery closed again in 1985. The casks of whisky remained on site in the warehouses where they continued to mature and be used for blending, as required by the owners. The distillery reopened in 1991.