Whisky was produced by two distilleries located within the Merkinch district. They were sited one on each side of Telford Street on the South bank of the Caledonian Canal. The Glen Mhor where Comet electrical store is now situated and the Glen Albyn on the site occupied now by B & Q. stores. The Glen Albyn was said to have been founded in 1846 by Provost James Sutherland of Inverness; licensee 1847 - 1852. The building was believed to have been built on an old Malt Kiln. After a period of disuse the distillery was converted for use as a flour mill c 1866.

It was rebuilt and re-established in 1884 by Grigor & Co, and then became the Glen Albyn Distillery Co., 1891/93; and was incorporated as a limited company c 1895. The distillery was purchased in 1920 by Mackinlay & Birnie Ltd., owners of the nearby Glen Mhor Distillery (connected with the Leith blenders, Charles Mackinlay & Co.,). The company was acquired by Distillers Company Limited in 1972.

The peat used for drying the barley was obtained from Dava Moor. The Glen Albyn had two stills and used the Saladin malting process. The whisky produced at Glen Albyn was used for blending only.

The Glen Mhor Distillery was established in 1892 by a partnership of John Birnie distillery manager of Glen Albyn, and James Mackinlay; of Charles Mackinlay & Co., the Leith blenders. It was incorporated in 1906 as a limited company, the principal shareholder being Charles Mackinlay. Glen Albyn was requisitioned by the Admiralty during the First World War, and used as a site for the construction of anti-submarine boom defences for the north of Scotland and Scapa Flow. A team of experts under Captain Munro of Nairnside, assembled the nets on the floor of the distillery. The rafts which carried the nets were constructed at the Thornbush Slipway. The Distillers Company Limited took over Glen Mhor in 1972. Glen Mhor had two stills and it was here that the method of malting in Saladin boxes was first used; this is a process where barley is spread out to germinate in long concrete trenches, in which it is turned automatically. The malt whisky produced at Glen Mhor was mostly used for blending, but was sometimes available as an eight year old 70% proof. Both the Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor closed in 1980. The reason for closure was because their production costs were significantly higher than in those new and very much larger mechanical maltings. Also there was a general industry wide cut back in whisky production.