History

The distillery was officially established in 1775, but the distillery had previously been under the control of illicit distillers, who sought to avoid paying taxes to England, since 1717. This early history has led to claims that Glenturret is the oldest distillery in Scotland, a title contested by other establishments such as Littlemill, Glenisla, Bowmore and Glen Garioch.

The distillery was originally known as “Hosh” and was originally owned by the Drummond family. “Hosh” comes from the gaelic “cois”, meaning foot. It was taken over by John McCallum in 1845 till 1875 when Thomas Stewart took it over and renamed it Glenturret in its centenary year.

The First World War saw the closure of the distillery, but following the war it reopened again under the Mitchell Brothers until 1921 when the great depression and prohibition in America saw it closed again. The buildings during this period were kept as storage by the Murrays of Ochtertyre. It did not reopen again to production till 1957 when it was revitalised by James Fairlie. Fairlie was a whisky enthusiast and his intention was to create a malt whisky created in traditional fashion and to preserve the craft of distilling. The distillery was bought by Cointreau in 1981 and from there passed to Highland Distillers in 1990. Since then it has become the home of “The Famous Grouse Experience”, which was nominated for an Interactive Entertainment Award at BAFTA in 2002.

Production and Character

The water supply for the Glenturret comes via its own pipeline from Loch Turret which has its origin in Ben Chonzie. As the water used contributes much of the taste and character of the whisky, the purity and quality of the water is essential in the whisky making process. Ben Chonzie is part of the Grampian Mountain Range and is a granitic intrusion, known as diorite. This geology has resulted in the extreme softness of the water of Loch Turret making it a suitable source for the whisky.

Barley is soaked in water from the source for two to three days then spread over the floor of the malting house. The green malt is then dried in a kiln over peat smoke. The malt is then milled into grist, which is like a course flour. Grist is then mixed with hot water in the mash tun at about 70^oC for about an hour. This is drained off and the second water, which is hotter, is added and allowed to run straight through. The third water is even hotter and is used as the first water for the next batch. The sugary wort is collected, cooled and then fermented in large pine vessels called wash backs. Yeast is added and after 48 hours of fermentation the wash is made. The wash is then pre-heated in a wash-charger and from there goes to the wash still. This is a traditional pot still made of copper and is of a shape unchanged in the history of Scotch whisky making. The wash is heated in the pot still so the alcohol vapour rises up and cools and condenses in the low wines receiver. The low wines then passes through to the spirit still where it is distilled again. The spirit running through the pot and spirit stills is subject to Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Duty and so is kept under lock and key. It can be sampled and tested by the stillman via the spirit sample safe. The spirit from the spirit still is divided in three parts, but only the middle cut or “Heart of the Run” is suitable to be made into malt whisky. The other two parts are fed back into the low wines receiver to be re-distilled. The middle cut then goes to an oak spirit receiver and from there to the filling vats in the spirit store.

At this stage more water is added to reduce the concentration of alcohol from 75% to 64%. Each oak cask is hand made and therefore unique, so each must be weighed before and after filling to determine how much spirit is in each. Each cask is stencilled with the name, year, cask number and number of litres. The casks are then laid aside in the warehouse for a minimum of three years when it can be used for blending. But for the malt whisky range it is matured for 8, 10, 12, 15 or 21 years or longer for very special bottlings.

Philip Hills has described Glenturret with the words:- “Its nose has the floweriness which is characteristic of such [bourbon cask]; it opens up with water and yields scents of elderflower and liebfraumilch. It is entirely honest, not appearing to be anything it isn’t, but what it is, is sufficient; an entirely pleasing and agreeable whisky.”

Towser the Mouser

Towser, a long-haired tortoiseshell female, was the resident feline pest control expert at Glenturret from 1963 till 1987 was an officially recognised record breaker. Her record breaking victim count was 28,299 mice which were laid out on the Still House floor each morning to be inspected by the stillman. The auditors for the Guinness book of records observed Towser’s prowess over a number of days and her total kill count was estimated statistically. She was commemorated by a bronze statue at the visitor’s centre at Glenturret and her story was featured on Blue Peter. Her paw prints also decorate the label on a bottle of Fairlie’s light Highland Liqueur. Her successors are Dylan and Brooke who were chosen for their friendliness and photogenic looks rather than for their mousing skills.

The Royal connection has meant that the distillery has played host to a string of famous visitors, many of them British prime ministers taking an hour or so off between meetings with the monarch of the day at Balmoral.

The history of the distillery nearly ran a very different course. The first licensed Lochnagar distillery was established in 1826, on the north side of the river by a former illicit distiller. Soon after fellow smugglers burnt it down — apparently nonplussed that one of their own was ‘going legit’. It was later rebuilt in 1845 by Begg on the south bank of the river; he renamed it New Lochnagar. The north-bank distillery closed by 1860 and Lochnagar continued to prosper — although the Abergeldie Estates refused to sell the distillery the grounds it occupied, seeing the value increase as the distillery flourished and expanded.

The distillery is now owned by Diageo Scotland Ltd, one of the largest spirit producing companies in the world. Royal Lochnagar is one of the smallest distilleries in The Classic Malts Selection™, and has been rebuilt three times. However, it still retains the traditional distillery appearance — with its two pagoda kiln heads – and techniques (including an open mash tun) and also has a visitor centre and a ‘learning centre’ for the appreciation of malt whisky.

Glenmorangie is categorised as a highland distillery and boasts the tallest stills in Scotland. Glenmorangie is available in Original, 18 and 25 year old bottlings, special cask bottlings, cask finishes, extra matured bottlings and a range of special edition bottlings.

History

Legend tells that alcoholic beverages of one kind or another were produced at the site of the Glenmorangie distillery since the Middle Ages.

According to official accounts, the production of alcohol started at the site of the distillery in 1738, when a brewery was built at Morangie Farm. The water source for the brewery was shared with the farm. William Matheson purchased a licence to produce whisky in 1843, to turn the brewery into a distillery, he purchased two second hand gin stills. The distillery took the Morangie name from the farm and the name Glenmorangie was created as a brand.

The distillery was purchased by its main customer, Macdonald and Muir during 1918. The Macdonald family would retain control of the company for almost 90 years.

Glenmorangie, like all distilleries and breweries in Britain suffered terribly between 1920 and 1950, with prohibition and then the Great Depression in the United States having a large impact on sales. The distillery was effectively mothballed between 1931 and 1936. The depression ended with World War II , but the war effort left fuel and barley in short supply and the distillery was again mothballed between 1941 and 1944. Exports of whisky were important during the war, but enemy action disrupted and destroyed deliveries to the United States and Canada.

Towards the end of the war and in the immediate post war period, the distillery increased production and was running at full capacity by 1948. The distillery increased the number of stills, from 2 to 4, during 1977. Water supply became a concern during the 1980s with development of the land around the Tarlogie Springs becoming more likely. This development could have impacted on the quality and quantity of water available to the distillery, so the decision was made by the distillery to purchase around 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land around and including the Tarlogie Springs to guarantee the quality and quantity of water necessary. The distillery once again engaged in expansion during 1990 when it added a further 4 stills, and 2 additional fermentation vessels (or washbacks) were added during 2002. Four new stills were added in 2009, bringing the total to twelve.

The Macdonald family retained ownership of 52% of the company through a complicated London stock exchange listing which saw the family hold the majority of the voting shares of the company. The Macdonald family sold the company in 2004 for around £300 million to a joint venture comprising of the French drinks company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Guinness France Holdings SA, the French subsidiary of British drinks company Diageo, with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy holding 66% of the company’s shares and Diageo holding the remaining 34% of the shares.

Glenmorangie has been the best selling single malt in the UK for a number of years, and produces around 10 million bottles per annum, of which 6 to 6.5 million are sold in the UK. Globally, Glenmorangie has a 6% share of the single malt market.

Production

Glenmorangie’s water source is the Tarlogie Springs, situated in the Tarlogie Hills above the distillery. Barley grain is supplied by Highland Grain Ltd, a co-operative of farmers in the area. The stills used, the tallest in Scotland at 26 ft 3 in (8.0 m) tall, with 10 feet 1.25 inches (3.080 m) necks, are claimed by the company to produce an extremely light taste. The distillation process is undertaken by a staff of 16, known as The Sixteen Men of Tain, who work year round, with the exceptions of Christmas and periods of maintenance.
Casks maturing at The Glenmorangie Distillery

Glenmorangie uses a number of different cask types, with all products being matured in white oak casks which are manufactured from trees growing in Glenmorangie’s own forest in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, United States. These new casks are left to air for 2 years before being leased to distillers Jack Daniel’s and Heaven Hill for them to mature bourbon in for 4 years. Glenmorangie then uses their barrels to mature their spirit. The Original range will mature entirely in ex-bourbon casks, while the Extra Matured range of bottlings are transferred into casks that were previously used to mature other products such as wine, port or sherry in a process called finishing. These form part of the regular range of products Glenmorangie produce. Glenmorangie also obtains small batches of other casks for finishing and release limited edition bottlings from these, in the past, the distillery is rumoured to have obtained casks used to mature Château Margaux.

The warehouses in which the casks are stored are also believed to affect the taste of the whisky. Glenmorangie have released a special edition bottling, titled Cellar 13 which is from the warehouse closest to the sea, as the whisky is believed to have a distinctive flavour.

Bottling of the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg brands takes place at the The Glenmorangie Company’s combined headquarters and bottling plant at Broxburn, West Lothian, just outside Edinburgh, Scotland. Glenmorangie also bottled Drambuie at the site in a joint venture with the Drambuie Company, but this arrangement will end in 2010.

Pronunciation

The name of the whisky is often mispronounced /ˌglɛnmɔˈrændʒi/ “Glen-Mor-Angie”. The correct pronunciation is /glɛnˈmɔrəndʒi/ “Glen-Morrun-Jee” (rhymes with orangey).

The distillery was founded in 1967 next to the old Brora distillery (first called Clynelish distillery). The distillery was established in May 1968, but was in production in April 1969. To avoid confusion, the first Clynelish was on December 2nd 1969 renamed into Brora. Clynelish has since 1987 belonged to United Distillers and since 1998 to Diageo, but until 1990, the license of Ainslie & Heilbron Malt Ltd and United Distillers Grain (UMGD), with the new name of SMD,

Production

The water of the Highlands / Northern Highlands distillery comes from the Clynemilton water. The malt is made from the Glen Ord Maltings. Clynelish has a mash tub (12.5 tons) of stainless steel and eight wash-backs (58,600 per liter) from larch wood. Distilled into three wash stills (17,000 per liter) and three spirit stills (19,000 per liter), which are heated by steam.

The name Glengoyne comes from ‘Glenguin’ or ‘Glen of the Wild Geese’.

Unlike many other whiskies, the distillery does not use peat smoke. It is claimed that this produces a purer taste. The Glengoyne portfolio consists of the 10 year old, 12 year old Cask Strength, 17 year old, 21 year old and 28 year old, as well as limited special Vintage bottlings of Glengoyne.

The premium malt whisky market has shown substantial growth in recent years and is the strongest growing sector of the Scotch Whisky industry. The principal markets for the Glengoyne single malt are the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, France, Germany and the USA. Glengoyne 17 year old was voted World’s Best Single Highland Malt in the “Best of the Best” whisky tasting, organised by “Whisky Magazine”. 62 independent industry experts took part in this blind tasting.

In April 2003, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd. acquired Glengoyne Distillery, and the Glengoyne Single Malt and Langs Blended Whisky brands. The acquisition of Glengoyne Distillery means Ian Macleod is now a fully integrated distiller, blender and bottler.

Ian Macleod is based in Broxburn, West Lothian and is an independent family-owned company with blending and bottling interests. The company was founded in 1939 by Leonard J Russell and the current Managing Director is his grandson Leonard Russell.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Medium golden, clear and bright.
Nose: Soft, mature, mellow oak and apple fruitiness.
Palate: Rich, full oak and fruit, very long, rich finish.

Nose
Very clean nose: the oak is minimal with honeyed-grassy malt. Beguiling.

Palate
A fabulous, honey-sweet infusion of tender malty notes do take on a waxy middle.

Finish
Bitter-sweet and still waxy with mounting vanilla and even a late hint of cocoa.

Comment
By no means the most complex whisky on the market, but unquestionably one of the most elegant and charming.

Jim Murray

Tasting notes

Appearance: Olive gold.

Nose: Rich sweetness and fruits — oranges, lemons and pears, with sea-salt and peaty smokiness.

Body: Full, rich.

Palate: Mouth-filling late autumn fruits — dried figs and honey-sweet spices; followed by a smoky malty dryness.

Finish: Long, smooth-sweet finish with oak-wood, dryness and a grain of salt.

“The founders of Oban distillery were entrepreneurs who imported and exported goods for which they could sense a demand. They would have approved of the Spanish influence brought to bear in this secondary cask finish. Deep gold in appearance. Sweeter than usual on the palate, rich fruit flavors are nonetheless complemented by a typical briny character. The finish is long with the influence of Montilla Fino cask-wood.” — Malts.com

Tasting notes

Nose
Fragrant. Edible seaweed, sweetish, restrained fruit. Aroma of white, uncut peaches.

Palate
Smooth, scenty. Developing notes of tobacco.

Finish
Sitting in a leather armchair, reading Masefield, before a log fire, listening to the tide with a whiff of brine under the weather-warped door.

Comment
Demonstrably an evocative whisky. Salty and winey, but neither as overt as in the comparable Glenmorangie Fino.

–Michael Jackson

History

The distillery was built in 1812 by William Fraser on the estate of Cawdor Castle, the scene of the death of King Duncan in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In 1835, Royal Brackla became the first whisky to receive the Royal Warrant, by order of King William IV of the United Kingdom. The distillery was expanded in 1970, closed in 1985, and reopened in 1991.

Methods of production

Brackla has a mash tun (11.5t) and six wash backs with an added volume of 360,000 l. The distillery uses 4 stills to produce its whisky, two wash stills with together 44,000 l and two spirit stills with an overall volume of 42,000 l. The water comes from Cawdor Burn.