Founded in 1819 as Clynelish by the Marquis of Stafford, the distillery aimed to reduce local whisky smuggling. After being acquired by Glasgow-based James Ainslie & Heilbron in 1896, it was rebuilt with new floor maltings and a kiln. In 1967, a new Clynelish distillery was built just across the road, completing in 1968. The original distillery was renamed Brora in 1969, derived from the Old Norse Bru’r aa meaning “the bridges river.” Brora was bought by Scottish Malt Distillers (later part of Diageo) in 1930 and closed in 1983. The original Brora buildings now serve as a visitor center and warehouse for the modern Clynelish distillery. Clynelish, which had largely supplied malt for blending, released its first official bottling, the 14 Year Old, in 2002. A 12-year-old expression followed in 2010 for the “Friends of the Classic Malts” range. In 2014, Diageo announced a £30m expansion, though it was delayed. A year-long refurbishment was completed in June 2017, and the distillery now operates with 10 washbacks and three pairs of stills, producing 4.8 million litres of alcohol weekly.
