Royal Lochnagar

Lochnagar distillery was established in 1826. It received royal approval in 1848 when, three days after Queen Victoria arrived at Balmoral Castle, her holiday residence, the distillery manager John Begg invited Prince Albert to visit his distillery. To his surprise, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their three eldest children visited the next day. John Begg immediately received a Royal Warrant of Appointment as supplier to the Queen. The history of the distillery nearly ran a very different course. The first licensed Lochnagar distillery was set up on the north side of the river in 1826 by a former illicit distiller but it was soon burned down by fellow smugglers. It was then rebuilt by Begg in 1845 on the south bank of the river and he renamed it New Lochnagar. The north-bank distillery closed by 1860. Royal Lochnagar has been rebuilt three times however it still retains its traditional pagoda kiln heads.