Meet Blind Captain Munro: Shot In The Head, Jilted In Love And Founder Of One Of Scotland’s Oldest Distilleries

Teaninich Distillery was founded in 1817 and has a capacity of just over ten million liters of pure alcohol. Yet despite this making Teaninich firmly in Scotland’s top 20 oldest open scotch distilleries (at joint 17th) and one of Scotland's largest producers of malt whisky (7th of 133), not many people have heard of it. While there is plenty to shout about this unassuming distillery, one of the most astonishing is the story of its founder, the “Blind Captain” Hugh Munro.

Blind Captain Hugh Munro

Hugh Munro was born in 1770, son of Navy Captain James Munro, and on his father’s death in 1788, aged just 18, he inherited his father’s lands and title to become the eighth Laird of Teaninich. As a wealthy landowner he was fortunate to be betrothed to his sweetheart Jane, daughter of another landowner General Sir Hector Munro—remember this is the 18th century nobility, so yes, probably some form of cousins.

Young and passionate, Hugh’s life of privilege did not stop him from enlisting in the recently created 78th Highlanders regiment; a foot regiment formed in 1783 by the Chief of the Mackenzie clan. In September 1794 they were posted to the Netherlands to fight in the French Revolutionary Wars. Aged just 24 Captain Hugh Munro laid eyes on his sweetheart for the last time as he set off for the continent.

In November 1794 Hugh was shot in the head, one of more than 60 wounded in defense of Nijmegen. In a small miracle the bullet destroyed both his eyes and passed behind the bridge of his nose but did not kill the Captain. Just as miraculously given the level of medical expertise at the time, Munro survived to return home to his castle, but not his sweetheart.

Overcoming Discrimination

Unfortunately for Hugh the 18th century did not look fondly on disability and Jane’s father believed Hugh’s blindness meant that he could not provide for his daughter. He forbade Jane from marrying Hugh. There was a plan to elope, but ultimately it is understood that Jane could not bring herself to go against her father’s wishes.

Whether in defiance of his not-to-be father-in-law, or with the fearlessness of a man who has seen death’s door, Hugh turned his energy to his duties as Lord of Teaninich, and excelled.

Now known by his moniker the “Blind Captain,” the young and apparently fearless Hugh did not let a little thing such as blindness get in the way of doing his duties and improving his community. He began significant work on Teaninich castle, demolishing and rebuilding parts of it. “He enthusiastically supervised the work, pacing out rooms to his exact dimensions and even climbing planks and scaffolding,” explains the literature on Teaninich Castle itself.

In a time when disability was seen to make you less of a person, Hugh Munro seemed determined to prove the world wrong. He still enjoyed horse riding, galloping at top speed with nothing but his groom ahead of him to scout for obstacles. His one concession to other’s views of his blindness seems to be wearing large green glasses that hid his eyes from view.

Other than that he carried on as any good lord would; improving life and productivity of his estate and those that lived there. He laid out the town of Alness, straightened the river to prevent flooding, extended the leases of craftsmen to allow for better productivity and provided refuge for the homeless. Then in 1817 he founded the Teaninich distillery.

The Teaninich Distillery

For landowners distilling whisky was seen to be a positive partner to other estate activities. Whisky was growing in popularity and making it provided an outlet for locally grown barley plus it was easier to transport to market than grain. It also gave estate workers something to do in the cold winter months and the byproducts were good as animal feed and fertilizer. Munro also believed that a licenced distillery would improve the life of his tenants and prevent illicit distilling.

The Teaninich distillery provided a legitimate place for local farmers to sell their grain, rather than use it for making their own moonshine. His plan may have been slightly too successful by the standards of the time as in 1822 he ended up with more than 4,000 gallons of whisky stored in his warehouse at a time when whisky was largely sold as newmake.

The problem in Hugh’s opinion was unfair competition. The laws of the time allowed illicit distillers to thrive at the expense of legitimate operations like his. Certain of the superiority of legitimately produced, consistent whisky, he began to campaign. In 1822 the 52 year old “Blind Captain” made national headlines for his address to the Parliamentary Commission when he complained that no public house in Tain had purchased legally produced whisky in over 12 months.

The passing of the Excise Act in 1823 was the answer to Munro’s problems. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, the 52 page act “contains details on the setup and regulation of a whisky distillery: its aim was to create a level playing field for distillers, generate a source of income for grain farmers in Scotland, and ultimately ensure a supply of consistent, quality spirit for consumers to enjoy.” Ultimately it took the advantage away from illicit distillers and allowed Munro’s distillery, and the people connected to it, to benefit fully from their hard work.

A Broken Heart

While Hugh seemingly moved on from his first love and threw himself into his duties, Jane is understood to have lived heartbroken. At her father’s request she was betrothed to and married another, and never spoke to Hugh again. However when she became ill she apparently asked to be taken to their parish church so that she could see Hugh one last time. On seeing him in his distinctive green glasses she is believed to have collapsed and died soon after. This tragic love story has been immortalized by The Boutique-y Whisky Company in their uniquely styled labels.

In 1819 Hugh took a step back from his duties as laird of Teaninich and sold the castle to his brother, Major General John Munro who became the 9th Lord of Teaninich. John Munro was an equally impressive man; fluent in at least eight languages, he was translator to multiple influential people in India and in honor of his work in the country he has a small archipelago named after him!

Hugh moved into the estate dower house after selling the castle to his brother. He kept the distillery until his death in 1846, although is understood to have taken a lighter roll in day-to-day activities from 1830.

Modern Teaninich

Today Teaninich is arguably unrecognizable as a 200 year old distillery. It has been expanded and modernized to meet the huge demand for its malt whisky, but almost all of it goes to sait the international thirst for blended scotch. Despite being part of the most popular scotch whisky in the world Teaninich is practically unknown—unlike its closest neighbor, the picturesque Dalmore, which was founded in 1839 and sits less than a mile away from Munro’s distillery.

The behemoth of blended scotch is a peculiar master for the distillers of the malt and grain whiskies that are combined to create it. You have almost certainly heard of the three biggest distilleries in scotland; Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Macallan, so you might expect to recognise the name of the third biggest distillery of the single biggest producer of scotch whisky? But as a predominant producer of blends, Diageo’s biggest distilleries are perversely unknown, forever the bridesmaids to Johnnie Walker blend.

We are seeing some changes as Diageo develops visitor centers in some of its distilleries. But it is a shame that interesting stories like Hugh Munro’s—especially ones representing diversity in an industry that has been renowned for focusing on able bodied white men—do not yet have the opportunity to be told as widely. As Diageo finishes its latest round of investments I’d argue that Teaninich’s remarkable founder provides the kind of heritage that the industry should shout about.