What unique problem did Glen Elgin face at the end of the Victorian era?

Last distillery built in Speyside for 60 years at the end of the whisky boom of the 1890s. Designed by notable distillery architect Charles Doig, work on the buildings began shortly before the 1898-99 collapse of Leith whisky blender, Pattisons, famously drove a buoyant market for malt whisky into recession. Local legend has it that many of the workers went unpaid and that the steeplejacks only got their money when they threatened to demolish the chimney stack. Glen Elgin’s next act was to impoverish its creators, who were forced to sell it for perhaps a quarter of its cost (13,000 BPS to 4,000 BPS) within a year of its eventually beginning production in May 1900.

What is unique about Glen Elgin’s distillery configuration?

In walking around the distillery you are struck by the contrasts in old and new, big and small. The distillery has a huge storage capacity for malted barley. The 36 malt bins can hold 400 tonnes – more than the 3 other distilleries in the Elgin group combined. However the ISR (intermediate spirit receiver) which collects the spirit from the stills is very small and has to be pumped empty 3 times a day.

What interesting job did one person have full-time back then at Glen Elgin?

Until the 1950s the distillery was entirely operated and lit by paraffin. All machinery was driven by a paraffin engine and a water turbine. It was a full time job to keep the paraffin lights burning.

Known as an important component of the White Horse blend.