The Brackla distillery was built in 1812 by Captain William Fraser of Brackla House on the estate of Cawdor Castle. In 1833 Brackla Distillery became the first whisky distillery to be granted a Royal Warrant by order of King William IV. This made Royal Brackla one of only three distilleiess ever honoured to bear the name 'Royal', the others being active distillery Royal Lochnagar and demolished distillery
Glenury Royal. Queen Victoria renewed the Royal Warrant in 1838.
It closed for a time during World War II, and again in 1964 until 1966, this was due to major reconstruction and re-planning. Brackla closed once more in 1985. It reopened in 1991.
After another major renovation in 1997, Royal Brackla was sold by the newly-created Diageo group to Bacardi-Martini, who incorporated it into their Dewar's portfolio (also recently acquired from Diageo). The vast majority of Brackla's spirit now goes into Dewar's White label and Bacardi's other blends. Oddly enough, Diageo retained the distillery warehousing as part of a long-term lease agreement, and the Royal Brackla spirit is matured elsewhere.Show more