Records of Mackinlays and Birnie Ltd, Inverness

• Corporate records including minutes and annual reports, 1906-1971
• Financial records, 1944-1973
• Shareholding records, 1953-1971
• Correspondence, 1951-1971
• Production records, 1956-1963
• Patents and trademarks, 1965-1966
• Staff records, 1968-1971
• Property records, 1951-1962
• Photographs, 1940s-1960s

In 1892 James Mackinlay of Charles Mackinlay and Co. formed a partnership with John Birnie, former Manager of Glen Albyn Distillery. The partnership was responsible for the construction of Glen Mhor Distillery on the bank of the Caledonian Canal in Inverness. The partnership was later incorporated in 1906, forming Mackinlays and Birnie Ltd. In 1920 Mackinlays and Birnie Ltd purchased the Glen Albyn Distillery, a highland malt whisky distillery originally founded in 1846 by Provost James Sutherland of Inverness. Following a period of disuse Glen Albyn was converted to grain mill c.1866 before once again being repurposed as a distillery in 1884.

Throughout their period of ownership, the company continued to operate from both Glen Mhor and Glen Albyn distilleries. John Birnie’s son, William Birnie, assumed responsibility for running of the company until the eventual sale of both distilleries to Distilleries Company Ltd in 1972. Both Glen Mhor and Glen Albyn were subsequently closed by Distilleries Company Ltd in 1983 and both sites have since been demolished.

• Sources:
• Moss, Michael S., and John R. Hume, The Making of Scotch Whisky (Edinburgh: Canongate, 2000)
• Paterson, Richard, and Gavin D Smith, Goodness Nose: The Passionate Revelations of a Scotch Whisky Master Blender (Neil Wilson Publishing, 2008)
• https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2035/glen-mhor/accessed 16 April 2020]
• https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2031/glen-albyn//[accessed 16 April 2020]

Arranged chronologically within thematic record series.

Access to certain records within this collection may be restricted or closed for reasons of customer, commercial or third-party confidentiality.  Please email Archives & Special Collections for advice on how to apply for access to these records: library-asc@glasgow.ac.uk

• Deposit : Whyte and Mackay Ltd : 14 Dec 2015 : ACCN 4004
• Deposit : Whyte and Mackay Ltd: Sept 2019 : ACCN 4304
• Transfer : Whyte and Mackay Ltd : 27 Mar 2020 : GB 248 UGD 224

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GB 1877: Diageo Archive

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