Balblair is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, having been officially founded in 1790 (although illicit distilling is believed to have taken place on the site for some time before that). The present distillery buildings date from the 1890s. Alexander Cowan, who had built the new distillery, was forced to close the distillery in 1911, after which time it remained silent until 1948-49, when it reopened under new management. The distillery's ownership then changed hands a few times, before finally being sold to Inver House in 1996.
