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.

History

Glenkinchie lies, as the name might suggest, in a glen of the Kinchie Burn near the village of Pencaitland, East Lothian. It is situated about 15 miles from Edinburgh. The distillery is set in farmland. The name ‘Kinchie’ is a corruption of ‘De Quincy’, the original owners of the land. Its origins date back to around 1825 when it was founded by brothers John and George Rate. The original name was Milton Distillery. The brothers probably renamed it in about 1837. In 1969 the distillery stopped malting its own grain and the malting floors were turned into a museum of malt whisky.

The Glenkinchie label was relatively little known until 1989, when United Distillers started marketing it under their Classic Malts brand.

The Whisky

The standard 10 year old Glenkinchie is a fairly typical lowland whisky in that it is fresh and light in character, with notes of lemon and cut grass. A sweet nose and a hint of peat make this a good introduction to the world of single malts.

The 14 year old Distiller’s Edition is double-matured in Amontillado sherry casks. The sherry flavour competes slightly with the freshness but does not overpower it.

History

The distillery was built in 1830 by Hugh & Kenneth MacAskill, and expanded in 1900. During this early period, the whisky was produced using a triple distilling method, but changed to the more conventional double distilling in 1928. The distillery was nearly destroyed by fire in 1960, however five exact replicas of the original stills were constructed to preserve the original Talisker flavour.

Talisker was a favourite whisky of writers Robert Louis Stevenson & Henry Vollam Morton, and contemporary bassist Christopher Sadlers.

The distillery operates five stills, two wash stills and three spirit stills. All the stills use condensing coils rather than a modern condenser, which are believed to give the whisky a “fuller” flavour (itself an indication of higher sugar content).

Character

Talisker is known for its above average peat content, and “salty” (or “spicy”) character. While the brand is generally well-accepted and sells well, the high phenol level and distinct taste may prove “challenging” for the casual whisky drinker. The distiller began producing special bottlings of the whisky for connoiseurs in the early 2000s, with a 20 and 25 year bottling (where previously only a 10 year and 18 year were available). The 25-year bottling was, despite being more expensive than the 20-year bottling, distributed more widely. Both have proved to be relatively popular.

The malt used is peated to a phenol level of approximately 25 parts per million (ppm), which is quite high. Additionally, the water used for production, from Cnoc nan Speireag, flows over peat which adds additional peatiness to the whisky.

Both Johnnie Walker and Drambuie (a liqueur, not a whisky) use Talisker as a component of their blended drinks; its presence is most notable in Walker’s Green Label 15 Year Old Pure Malt.

History

The distillery was built in 1794 by the brothers John and Hugh Stevenson and operated by him until 1866 when it was bought by Peter Curnstie. It was then acquired by Walter Higgin in 1883 and rebuilt. In 1898, Alexander Edward, who also owned Aultmore Distillery, bought out Higgin. In its first year of operation, it suffered major losses when a major blending company, Pattison’s of Leith, went under. In 1923, Oban was sold to Dewars and joined Distillers Company Limited with that company in 1925. It fell silent from 1931 until 1937 and again from 1969 to 1972 when a new still house was built. In 1989 a new visitors’ centre was installed.

Bottlings

The Oban distillery is primarily known for its aged 14 years single malt Scotch, which is marketed as part of United Distillers’ Classic Malts range, launched in 1988. Recently they introduced “Oban Distiller’s Edition” in which the whisky is finished in a sherry cask prior to bottling.

In 1897, John Grant, George Sellar and Alexander Mackenzie founded the Strathspey distillery. Production started in 1898 but unfortunately the society was bankrupt the same year. The distillery was sold to A.P. Blyth in 1898 for his son who renamed it Dalwhinnie. Later, in 1905, the American Cook & Bernheimer took control over the distillery. The American distiller was looking for malts to produce blended whiskies for the American market. This is the very first American investment in the Scotch whisky industry. The American adventure continued until the prohibition in the United States in 1920, and the distillery returned to the Scottish fold by the buying up by Lord James Calder, shareholder of MacDonald Greenlees, a whisky blender. After MacDonald Greenlees has been taken over by the Distillers Company Limited, Dalwhinnie became part of another blenders group, James Buchanan, famous for his Black & White blended whisky.

A fire in 1934 stopped production for 3 years, and the reopening in 1938 was short-lived because the second world war brought restrictions on the supply of barley. Since reopening in 1947, the distillery has continued to operate through to the present day, although on-site malting ceased in 1968.

Dalwhinnie has became famous worldwide because it is marketed by its owners, United Distillers, under their Classic Malts brand, launched in 1988. Despite this, only 10% of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining being used in the Black & White blends.

1884 Dailuaine is renovated and enlarged. At this point it is one of the largest distilleries in the highlands. in 1889 Charles Doig builds the first pagoda in Scotland.

1891 Dailuaine-Glenlivet Distillery Ltd. was founded. In 1898, Dailuaine-Glenlivet and Talisker Distillery Ltd. are fused to Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Ltd.

1915 Thomas Mackenzie died and the company was sold to John Dewar & Sons, John Walker & Sons and James Buchanan & Co. one year later.

1917 a big fire destroyed the pagoda-roof. The distillery had to close, reopened three years later and was bought by Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1925. 1960 the Distillery is completely renovated and is enlarged from four to six stills. Since 1983 the malt is no longer produced inhouse.

1987 Dailuaine was taken over by United Distillers (UD).