Glentauchers distillery is located in the Speyside region of Scotland’s whisky producing areas, the distillery was founded in 1897. The distillery was designed by John Alcock with the building work overseen by Charles Doig & Son.
Glentauchers distillery started to produce spirit when James Buchanan Co. Ltd and three members of Glentauchers Distillery Co. joined hands with Glentachers a year after that.
The distillery was then mothballed by United Distillers in 1985, and sold to Allied Distillers in 1989. Unfortunately it is not easy to find an official bottling from this distillery, why? Well firstly the liquid is used mainly for blends and therefore the single malt market is very much a secondary thought. They indie bottlers do seem to be getting plenty of stock but these are still rarely bottled, although there are more and more starting to show up on the scene, which is only a good thing.
With most of the whisky produced being used in blended whiskies it is not hard to understand why such a great whisky is still going unnoticed by so many. This is where the problem can be found, these whiskies that are solely produced for blends do seem to be of a high quality but are they really better than those on offer to the single malt market ? Or are we looking at these whiskies with those rose tinted glasses again?
It is interesting to think that the whisky from these distilleries is superior to that whisky produced from the majority of distilleries. Is it just a matter of the casks picked or used by the indie bottlers are the cherry ones, are they being lucky and actually getting offered the cream of the crop? I suggest to you that we know the indie bottlers who are buying the new make and have been doing this for some time might actually be using those “finest oak casks” to mature the whisky in with the knowledge these will one day be released into the single malt market.
Does this mean the casks used for the blended side are of poorer quality? No not at all, the blending market is obviously a massive entity within itself so there is always going to be a mixture of good and bad casks, these are easier to loose when blending and those great casks are therefore easier to find too when moving them on…
The distillery works with a 12.2 ton stainless steel Lauter mash tun, six Oregon pine washbacks, along with three spirit stills and three wash stills, this offers the distillery a total production capacity of 4,500,000 litres of pure alcohol per year.
2010 – 9 Year old Glentauchers
Distillery.. Glentauchers
Region.. Speyside
Age.. 9 years
Abv.. 46%
Cask.. Ex wine cask
Bottler.. Hepburn’s Choice (Langside)
Nose.. This starts with a nice fresh summer fruits aroma with berries, plum and orchard fruits bringing in a wonderful aroma. then freshly peeled apples and gentle pineapple notes begin to mingle. Toffee and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies arrive with a crunchy nut cornflake note.
Palate.. A nice ginger hit leads you into a mixture of those dried fruits and fresh fruits, coffee and a little blackberry and apple pie.
Finish.. oak and sweetness lingers.
Thoughts.. This is a very refreshing younger malt hailing from Glentauchers, which from the very beginning offers up some nice aromas and flavours. I am sure the 9 year old age statement will offend some drinkers out there who still believe their whisky must be old and dark in colour but that’s fine, it leaves more great whisky for those who are beginning to understand whisky is ready when it is ready no matter what number (if any) is nicely embossed upon the label.
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