2024 A New year of Glen Mhor Research

Before we embark on a new year of research, I thought it would be worthwhile to outline my plans for this year, and watch them go horribly wrong, change drastically, or elements of both, as we journey deeper into 2024.

Last year was a huge success in terms of raising the profile of the distillery to a new level. From discovering what they did with the Glen Albyn feints to a break-in at Glen Mhor, new super clear images, Gilbert complaining about working conditions... it was as unpredictable as it was enjoyable, and I hope you enjoyed the ride with too many discoveries to fit into one single paragraph.

As revealing as the logbook was about the ins and outs of a distillery. There are only a few pages left and then we will be saying goodbye to this vital resource in the next few weeks. It's a unique document and I expect we'll be returning to it again and again as new finds are unearthed. 

My thanks to everyone who has supported and continues to support this research project. From Mark Davidson's findings, Alan Winchester's invaluable insights and Rose's eye for detail and constant listening to my theories. I'm also grateful to those who have supported the recent Go Fund Me effort to acquire a collection of Glen Mhor documents.

Speaking of which, these will form the early part of 2024 and take us into the summer months. It is a remarkable collection of items dating from the earliest days of the distillery through to the 1920s. Each will be digitally captured, made available here and also discussed in individual articles. If you never thought a bank receipt or carting invoice could be interesting, prepare to be enthralled. 

I would like to return to the Highland Archives in Inverness, to collate the distillery logbooks for Glen Albyn in the hope that we might find some post-1920 references to Glen Mhor.

Then, there is the long overdue visit to Glasgow University Archives to see what is in the Mackinlay & Birnie files. The National Library of Scotland also holds the letters of Neil M. Gunn, which may shed more light on his time at Glen Mhor, as we know from his biography (F.R. Hart & J.B. Pick, 1981) it is mentioned in his reflections on whisky and also politics.   

The podcast series will continue to follow each article published online. I'm also considering promoting the research a bit more in 2024, as people seem to be just as interested in it as they are in why and who is doing all this. I hope the work speaks for itself, but clearly there's another level of interest, so we'll see, and it might unlock new information.

I am also planning to collate some straggling random photos and quotes to make the website more complete. Then towards the end of 2024, in November actually, I'll be doing a presentation for the Local Inverness Forum, which will be announced soon. I'm hoping the delay in organising this (thanks to Dave for his patience) will mean a more thorough synopsis of the distillery. Possibly, some of the attendees will be able to provide their own recollections and thoughts, as these will be of great interest to me and a wider audience. 

Hopefully, there will be more unexpected discoveries along the way, because the power of the internet is undeniable. If you stumble across this and have anything to do with Glen Mhor, please get in touch. I'm always excited by new finds and what they can bring to our overall appreciation.

Finally, thank you for your support in this endeavour and here's to a historically rich 2024 of new finds and old whiskies. Things kick off again next week and the next couple of months are already lined up.

Jason.