The town had two whisky distilleries, including one of the oldest in Scotland, Langholm Distillery, established in 1765. It was still operating in 1915 but closed in 1917 due to wartime pressures.
Glentarras Distillery, constructed in 1839, stopped production in 1905 but still had a resident manager in 1915. It was converted into hostel accommodation in 1916 for workers at the huge new Gretna munitions factory.
Both distilleries produced ‘malt’ whisky, made from malted barley in batches, rather than ‘grain’ whisky, made from other grains (malted or unmalted) in a continuous process. ‘Malted’ means that the grain has been soaked in water, germinated, then dried.
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