Small Deeside distillery beside Balmoral, holder of a royal warrant since Queen Victoria's visit in 1848.
Royal Lochnagar sits on the Abergeldie estate at Crathie, just across the Dee from Balmoral and about six miles west of Ballater. It's one of the smaller Diageo distilleries, a tidy group of granite buildings below the hill it's named after.
Tours run daily and end with a tasting. It's an easy pairing with Balmoral, and a quieter, more intimate visit than the big Speyside names.
A story
The first distilleries on this site kept burning down. They went in 1824, 1826 and 1841, supposedly at the hands of illicit competitors. In 1845 John Begg built the "new" Lochnagar. Three years later he invited Prince Albert over from Balmoral, and the next day Queen Victoria came with the children. The royal warrant followed.