Lindores Abbey distillery information
Lindores Abbey’s connection to whisky begins not with a distillery, but with an account book. The Tironensian monks who founded the abbey in the late 12th century were known as the Grey Monks, having brought their order (and their brewing know-how) over from Thiron in France. The abbey stood as a prominent religious site for over 300 years, visited by several Scottish and English kings, before closing in 1559.
Its place in whisky history comes from a single line in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls, the accounts of King James IV’s court at nearby Falkland Palace: a payment recorded to Brother John Cor, instructing him “by order of the King” to make aqua vitae from eight bolls of malt. Historians estimate that quantity of malt would have yielded roughly 350 litres of spirit. It’s the earliest written record of whisky production anywhere in Scotland, and the reason Lindores is often called the spiritual home of Scotch whisky.
That history sat largely forgotten for centuries. The Lindores Abbey Farm, standing directly opposite the ruins, was bought by Drew McKenzie Smith’s grandfather, John Howison, in 1913. For decades the family knew the abbey had hosted kings and William Wallace, but had no idea of its whisky connection. That changed in 2000, when whisky writer Michael Jackson visited the farm, asked to look around the ruins, and later included them in his book Scotland and its Whiskies. The note that followed set Drew and his wife Helen on a two-decade campaign to bring distilling back to the site.
Construction finally began in 2016, converting and enlarging the original abbey farm steading. Production was set up under the guidance of the late Dr. Jim Swan, the renowned consultant who helped establish over a dozen distilleries worldwide. The first spirit ran on 13 December 2017. Because Scotch whisky must legally age at least three years, the distillery filled the wait with Aqua Vitae, a gin that picked up a Gold Medal at the 2020 SIP Awards and a 2-star Great Taste Award in 2019, before Lindores’ first whisky became legally releasable in December 2020.
Rather than chasing the traditionally light, floral Lowland style, Lindores leans into long fermentations of up to 114 hours, aiming for a fruit-driven spirit with apple, spice, and a malty finish. Today, Drew holds the title “Custodian of Lindores,” passed down through his family, and the distillery has become Newburgh’s largest employer. The McKenzie Smiths have also formed a Preservation Society to help halt the abbey ruins’ decline, open to members who want to support the site directly.
The stillhouse itself is unusual for the industry: one large wash still feeds two smaller spirit stills that work in parallel rather than the more common arrangement of stills working in pairs. This gives the spirit more contact with copper, believed to improve the final character, and was also a practical solution to a height constraint in the production building.
Lindores Abbey Whiskies
Lindores Abbey’s whisky releases start later than the distillery itself. Spirit first ran in December 2017, but the first commercial single malt didn’t arrive until summer 2021, following the standard three-year minimum maturation plus the time the team wanted for the whisky to develop properly.
Core Range
| Name | Cask Maturation | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCDXCIV (1494) | Ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and STR ex-Burgundy red wine casks | Core release | First commercially available whisky, released as a “Commemorative First Release” in 2021, now the ongoing core bottling. Named for the year of the first written record of whisky at the site |
The Casks of Lindores (single cask series)
A recurring three-part series showcasing one cask type per release, all bottled at 49.4% ABV.
| Series | Release | Cask |
|---|---|---|
| Casks of Lindores I | Bourbon | Ex-bourbon barrels |
| Casks of Lindores I | Sherry | Ex-Oloroso sherry butts |
| Casks of Lindores I | Wine | STR ex-wine barriques |
| Casks of Lindores II | Bourbon | Ex-bourbon barrels (older than Series I) |
| Casks of Lindores II | Wine | STR wine barrique |
| Casks of Lindores II | Sherry | First-fill Oloroso sherry butts |
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Lindores Abbey |
| Region | Lowland |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Water source | Local borehole |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | McKenzie Smith family |
| Address | Lindores Abbey Distillery Abbey Road Newburgh, Fife KY14 6HH +44 1337 842547 |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://lindoresabbeydistillery.com |
| Community | Lindores Abbey Members |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 2 tonnes | 1 (semi-lauter) |
| Washback | 7,500-13,000 litres | 4 (Douglas Fir) |
| Wash still | 10,000 litres | 1 |
| Spirit Still | 3,500 litres | 2 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | ~250,000-260,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Lindores’ place in whisky history comes from a single line in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls, the accounts of King James IV’s court at nearby Falkland Palace: a payment recorded to Brother John Cor, instructing him “by order of the King” to make aqua vitae from eight bolls of malt, a quantity historians estimate would have yielded roughly 350 litres of spirit. It’s the earliest written record of whisky production anywhere in Scotland.
Lindores Abbey was founded in the late 12th century by Tironensian monks known as the Grey Monks, who brought their order and brewing know-how over from Thiron in France. The abbey stood as a prominent religious site for over 300 years, visited by several Scottish and English kings, before closing in 1559.
The Lindores Abbey Farm, standing opposite the ruins, was bought by Drew McKenzie Smith’s grandfather, John Howison, in 1913. For decades the family knew the abbey had hosted kings and William Wallace, but had no idea of its whisky connection. That changed in 2000, when whisky writer Michael Jackson visited the farm and later included the ruins in his book Scotland and its Whiskies, setting Drew and his wife Helen on a two-decade campaign to bring distilling back to the site.
Construction began in 2016, converting and enlarging the original abbey farm steading. Production was set up under the guidance of the late Dr. Jim Swan, the renowned consultant who helped establish over a dozen distilleries worldwide. The first spirit ran on 13 December 2017.
Since Scotch whisky must legally age at least three years, the distillery filled the wait with Aqua Vitae, a gin that picked up a Gold Medal at the 2020 SIP Awards and a 2-star Great Taste Award in 2019, before Lindores’ first whisky became legally releasable in December 2020. The first commercial single malt didn’t actually arrive until summer 2021, once the team was satisfied with how it had developed.
Lindores uses one large wash still that feeds two smaller spirit stills working in parallel, rather than the more common arrangement of stills working in pairs. This gives the spirit more contact with copper, believed to improve its character, and was also a practical solution to a height constraint in the production building.
Rather than chasing the traditionally light, floral Lowland style, Lindores leans into long fermentations of up to 114 hours, aiming for a fruit-driven spirit with apple, spice, and a malty finish.
The core release is MCDXCIV (1494), matured in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and STR ex-Burgundy red wine casks, first released as a Commemorative First Release in 2021 and named for the year of whisky’s first written record at the site. Alongside it, The Casks of Lindores is a recurring single-cask series bottled at 49.4% ABV, showcasing bourbon, sherry and wine cask expressions across successive series.
Yes, Lindores Abbey has a visitor centre.