Tomintoul is within the whisky producing region of Speyside, famous for making great tasting whiskies.
The area surrounding Tomintoul is of astounding natural beauty, with an array of flora and fauna specific to the region. Many of Scotland’s most endangered species are protected in the wilderness here.
These include the golden eagle, mountain hare, wild cat, black grouse, crossbill, dotterel, ptarmigan, crested tit, pine marten, red squirrel, water vole and otter.
Many pheasants live around the distillery and will come to visit us when the grain trucks arrive for a free dinner. One particular fellow, whom we’ve named Vincent, has become a bit of a distillery mascot, and can be fed by hand.
The estate of Glenlivet has been part of The Crown Estate since the 1930s, owned by the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Since 1760, surplus revenue, after management expenses, from The Estate, has been surrendered to The Exchequer each year. For 600 years, The Glenlivet Estate was owned the Dukes of Gordon and Richmond. It was the 4th Duke of Gordon who planned and built the local village of Tomintoul in the 1770s.
The local minister of Tomintoul in 1797 wrote that “Tomintoul is inhabited by 37 families, without any industry. All of them sell whisky and all of them drink it. When disengaged from this business, the women spin yarn, kiss their inamoratos or dance to the discordant sounds of an old fiddle”.
