Distilling was taking place on this site at least as early as 1494, although it was most probably happening long before that. We know this because of the earliest written reference to Scotch Whisky (or Aqua Vitae, as it was then known), which appears in the Exchequer Roll of the same year. It mentioned a Brother John Cor, a Lindores monk, who was commissioned by King James IV to turn 8 bolls of malt into Aqua Vitae.

In 2017, spirit started flowing once again from copper stills at Lindores Abbey Distillery.