Glenesk
A Silent Highland Still
Founded by Dundee wine merchant James Isle in 1897, Glenesk passed through various incarnations (including ‘Highland Esk Distillery’ and ‘North Esk Distillery’) during the 20th century from its location in Montrose, in the eastern Highlands.
Having operated first as a malt, then both a malt and grain distillery, it returned to its original function in 1964, changing its name to ‘Hillside’ for this purpose (after the nearby town of Hillside). Hillside continued to produce malt whisky until 1980, when the name was changed to ‘Glenesk'. The distillery was dismantled in 1996 and the site is now used as purely as a maltings.
Historically Glenesk malts formed part of Vat 69 blended whisky. Although a small number of Glenesk single malt bottlings were produced, these were mainly released under the Hillside name. In addition, during the 1990s several Glenesk malts were released as part of Diageo’s Rare Malts series.