Glenury Royal distillery was founded in 1825 by Robert Barclay close to Stonehaven, Kincardinshire in the Highland whisky region.

Much of the distillery was destroyed by fire shortly after opening, but it managed to continue until Robert's death and was sold to William Richie in 1857-8.

There were various other owners until 1953 when DCL took over the distillery and transferred it to SMD.

They fully refurbished the distillery in 1965-6

During the refurbishment the number of stills was increased from two to four, but in 1968 the maltings were closed. Eventually, in 1985 DCL took the decision to close the distillery and this was made permanent in 1993 when the site was sold and converted to apartments.

Distillery photo with kind permission by Teimei Horiuchi

More info here from Malt Madness

General whisky characteristics: Orange peel, rich, dry and slightly waxy

Glenury Royal, Rare Malts, distilled 1971, 23y, 61.3% ABV

Bottle No.3318

Typical cost of this bottle; Unknown, now a collectible

Dram-atics "Classics" review

Glass: Glencairn

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: Rich and floral with perfumed furniture polish, creme brulee, mocha and dark chocolate.

Palate: That mocha really extends onto the palate as this is lightly peppery with what I can only describe as coffee cream chocolates.

Finish: Extremely long.

Overall Impression: Lightly perfumed rich chocolate and coffee, delightful, nay a "Great", there, I said that magic word!

Glenury Royal, 40y, 1970-2011, 59.4% ABV

Bottle No.445 of 1500

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2012

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Pale amber

Nose: Ooohh this is deep, a little antiseptic and very Atlantic. There's a dark fruitiness on the nose too which exudes raisins and cherries, but that Atlantic-ness is just quite stunning. It's maritime, lightly salty and a little woody, just like an aged Atlantic pier.

Palate: This has an earthiness, not quite peaty but again very Atlantic and quite massively intense as it sits right on the front of the palate leading into the long finish

Finish: Very long.

Overall Impression: Deep, stunning and I love the Atlantic effect. Definitely a "Great".

D. Laing, Glenury Royal, bottled 27.11.2008, 32y, 50% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich oak, not quite amber

Nose: Hints of orange peel, old fashioned wax furniture polish, with time a little germolene (antiseptic sting cream) appears then fades into a more nutty aroma. After some more minutes there is the slightest hint of aftersun cream in the background, but all the time those orange peel notes remain towards the foreground.

Palate: The orange peel and nuts are immediately prominent, but they also bring a dryness in the same way that a dry wine or sherry will. hat old beeswax furniture polish from the nose also appears on the palate in both flavour and slight waxiness which then leads into the finish.

With 4 drops of water: The palate is much more intense, but so is the dryness and waxiness.

Finish: Long, rich and quite dry. Even longer and drier with water.

Overall Impression: A magnificent nose promises much and many of the aromas are indeed transferred to the palate, but it remains quite dry and never loses the impression of that wax polish. A very good dram, but not quite making the mark of greatness, although not far away.