IT burned down 15 years ago, but new discoveries confirm the long-held theory that Littlemill Distillery on the banks of the River Clyde at Bowling was the oldest licensed whisky distillery in Scotland.

For more than 220 years, the date 1772 carved in stone on the gable end of one of its warehouses offered the best evidence, but there had been no documentary or legal proof until now.

Now new evidence has come to light following the discovery of the local Justice of the Peace’s records for Dumbarton, dated November 2, 1773, which state that ‘Robert Muir of Littlemiln’ was granted the first ever licence by the Government of King George III to “retail ale, beer and other excisable Liquors.”

Additionally, in 1772 accommodation was built next door to the distillery to house the Excise officers who ensured any distillation was duly recorded and the relevant taxes calculated and paid.

Whisky production at Littlemill continued until 1994 and the distillery was destroyed by fire in 2004.

The name is now owned by the Loch Lomond Group who coincidentally released Littlemill 40-Year-Old Celestial Edition (46.8% ABV) in late 2018, the oldest expression ever to be released from the lost Littlemill distillery.

Colin Matthews, CEO, Loch Lomond Group commented: “We are thrilled and excited to have discovered these clear and unambiguous documents dating back to 1773 that confirms that Littlemill was indeed the very first Scottish distillery to obtain a licence to sell ‘excisable liquors’.”