In 1559 the abbey was destroyed by John Knox and his supporters and began to fall into decline. It is a historic place in Scottish W.hisky History

The Exchequer of James IV put the Tironensian and Lindores monk John Cor on the agenda of Scottish whisky history in 1495 by writing: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt.” In Latin he noted: „Et per liberacionem factam Fratri Johanni Cor per preceptum compotorum rotulatoris, ut asserit, de mandato domini regis ad faciendum aquavite, infra hoc compotum viij bolle brasii.“

„The whisky-distilling roots of Lindores Abbey, situated in Newburgh on the north coast of Fife, can be traced back to 1494 when details of the malt duty paid by Friar John Corr was logged in the Exchequer Roll – the first written evidence of whisky distillation in Scotland.

Now under the ownership of the McKenzie Smith family, Lindores Abbey, which is currently nothing more than ruins, is to be brought back to life as a distillery and visitor centre to put the landmark “once again on the map as the spiritual home of Scotch whisky”.  See: The Spirits Business, September 30th, 2013.

Drew McKenzie-Smith, whose family bought the famous Whisky-Abbey in 1913, said: “It is a privilege to be the custodian of such a historic property and in our centenary year it is tremendously exciting to be embarking on this project, where we can once more produce Scotch whisky at Lindores.“

It is also reported that the expert Dr Jim (James) Swan will be consultant of the distilling project which is to distill „a light, fruity Lowland malt.“  The water will come from the „Holy Burn“ which was dug by the Tironsnsian monks in the 1500s and a bore hole from on the premises.

Building application was handed in to the Fife Council on Friday, 15th May 2015.

Production is planned to start in 2017.

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