Convalmore is the fourth distillery built in Dufftown, neighboring Balvenie and Glenfiddich (the distillery buildings, now used as warehouses, are owned by William Grant & Sons, proprietors of several nearby distilleries). The distillery was constructed in 1893 and began production the following year. The original owners were the Convalmore-Glenlivet Distillery Company and a Glasgow-based blending firm, with the renowned Dufftown whisky merchant Peter Dawson serving as general manager. Despite favorable market conditions, the company went bankrupt in 1905 and was acquired by Glasgow blender W.P. Lowrie & Company, which was also a whisky supplier to James Buchanan & Company, the latter acquiring Lowrie in 1907. Many distillery buildings were destroyed by fire in 1909 but were rebuilt the following year (including a continuous still, which was abandoned in 1915). Buchanan joined D.C.L. in 1925, and ownership transferred to S.M.D. Convalmore closed in 1985, and the distillery buildings were sold to William Grant & Sons in 1990.

Convalmore distillery takes its name from the Conval Hills, whose pure waters supply its production. Cooling water is drawn from the nearby River Fiddich. In 1909, catastrophe struck—a fire so ferocious that its 30-40 foot flames prevented hoses from being connected. Desperate workers formed a human chain, bucket-brigade style, drawing water directly from the Fiddich. In a surreal twist, snow began falling, transforming the inferno into a hauntingly beautiful scene of burning buildings framed by white.