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Remains of a 19th century whisky distillery recorded by excavation carried out in April 2019 by the Cabrach Trust and Cameron Archaeology. The investigation showed that the distillery operated on three levels, using gravity to aid the distillation process. The building, 10m long of 6.3m wide, was divided into four rooms or working spaces, and was on three levels. The northernmost room had a pit cut into the floor filled with layers of ash. Room 3, on the same level, has a rectangular area of paving with associated compact gravel surfaces as well as a circular and semi-circular alignment of stones, possibly providing bases for tanks or barrels. Room 2 (to the west of 3) is at a lower level and has waterwashed cobbles over the south end of the room. Room 1, at the south, was a step down from Room 3, and has cobbles throughout with a central drain. Artefacts recovered included stoneware bottles, iron fittings, a buckle and clay pipes which may have been contemporary with the distillery phase, and also fragmentary glass bottles suggesting some use of the building at a slightly later date. Further investigation was carried out in 2021 by Bratt and Bye-Jensen, which indicated that a still worm tub was located outside the building. Blackmiddens (NJ42NW0007) was one of the first farms to be granted a licence to make whisky following the Excise Act of 1823 (though illicit production may have been undertaken before then). The distillery operated between 1825 and 1833, and output would have been relatively small. In May 1826 James Smith placed a newspaper advert seeking a ‘properly qualified’ brewer for his distillery, and the following year another advert advised that Smith had appointed an agent to take orders for Buck Whisky. Smith died in 1833 and the distillery ceased trading. Measured survey of the distillery was carried out by Historic Environment Scotland in 2020.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)