Lochside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Site of the Former Distillery
Montrose, Angus
DD10 9AD Scotland
Viewer's Comments about Lochside

Lochside Distillery was established in 1957. However, long before it became known as a distillery, it was Montrose Brewery which was built in the 1760s. In the early 1830s, James Deuchar purchased the brewery, rebuilt it and expanded the water supply. Production continued until Scottish & Newcastle Breweries purchased the Deuchar Brewery in 1956, but only to close it down as the company moved all of their operations to Edinburgh.

In 1957 Macnab Distillers Ltd. purchased the brewery and converted it into Lochside Distillery. One of the investors of Macnab was Joseph W. Hobbs - a man well-known for his association with grain distilleries such as Glenesk (also known as Hillside) and Ben Nevis. He is also associated with these distilleries: Bruichladdich, Glenury Royale, Glenkinchie and Highland Esk.

Hobbs interest in Lochside was to produce grain whisky. And, until 1961, producing grain whisky was Lochside's sole output. But then in the early 1960s, larger and more economically run grain distilleries were built and this concerned Hobbs since greater quantities of grain whisky were being produced. He converted some of the brewing equipment which then enabled Lochside to produce both grain and malt whisky for blending. Hobbs 'blended the whiskies at birth' and then put them back into the cask for maturation. This practice by Hobbs is known as 'blending at birth'.

Joseph Hobbs pass away in 1964 and Lochside closed in 1971. The distillery lay silent until 1973 when at that time it was purchased by the Spanish company Destilerias y Crianza del Whisky S.A. (DYC) for the purpose of improving its Spanish blends. While the production at Lochside heavily contributed to Sandy Macnab's blend which was widely available in the Southern European markets, once under the ownership of DYC, a majority of the spirit was then sent directly to Spain for use in their own Spanish whisky blends. Sales were impressive.

In 1992, DYC became part of Allied Distillers which later formed Allied Domecq (now Ricard Pernod). Lochside's production ceased in June of the same year and all stocks were depleted by 1996.

This Coastal Malt is of tremendous quality, with the briny, seaside flavours and complexity shared with the other great malts aged in close proximity to the sea. This distillery deserved much, much greater recognition, sadly we are too late. Enjoy it while you can. It is a true star - as described by Murray McDavid - "the Springbank of the East".

LochsideWhisky Distillery

Lochside was established as a distillery in 1957 and with the exception of two years, was in operation until 1992. Originally a brewery built in the 1760s, it was rebuilt in the early 1830s. The new buildings were designed by architect Charles Doig and its structure reflected the Bauhaus design used in Germany and Belgium rather than those of Scottish distilleries. Lochside's tower was a well-known local landmark in Montrose in the 1900s.

Lochside Distillery had one cast iron mash tun and nine stainless steel washbacks and the spirit was aged in bourbon casks. The name Lochside comes from a small loch - Mary's Loch - which was beside the distillery and was the water source until it dried up. An artesian well beneath the distillery was then used to provide water for Lochside. This distillery had its own had its own bottling plant.

Production ceased in 1992 when the distillery became under the ownership of Allied Distillers. The distillery was completely demolished in 2005 and has been replaced by a garden center.