Royal Lochnagar

Royal Lochnagar single malt bottlings date back a long time as the whisky was provided to the Royal Household in London and Balmoral, and some of these bottles still exist today. It was not until the 1970s however that it was marketed to the public when a 5- and 12-year-old were introduced by John Begg & Co who remained as licensees of the distillery after its acquisition by Distillers Company. Interestingly, at this time the brand was simply known as Lochnagar due to an ongoing dispute with the Balmoral Estate over alleged pollution of its land by the facility. This was later resolved however, and the "Royal" prefix restored in the 1980s.

The Royal Lochanagar brand was one of the few to be retained by United Distillers following its rationalisation efforts in the 1980s and was relaunched as a standalone brand despite its production being too limited for consideration as the Highland representative in the Classic Malts of Scotland collection. The 12-year-old age statement was retained and a new non-age statement called Selected Reserve was introduced. The latter was discontinued in 2018 and the current core range now includes a Distillers Edition. Limited editions also appear from time to time as part of various premium Diageo collections such as Prima & Ultima and the annual Special Releases.

Royal Lochnagar Distillery
Crathie
Balmoral
Ballater
AB35 5TB
Scotland