Glen Garioch - The Dawn of a New Era in Oldmeldrum

If there’s one distillery that was on my must-visit list in 2023, it was Glen Garioch. It’s a fascinating time for this distillery right now, following a landmark few years that has seen Beam-Suntory bring back traditional methods to restore the root essence of the distillery. They are also introducing new technologies in a true balance of taking valuable lessons from the past and welcoming new innovations in a move that heralds the dawn of a new era.

Situated 17 miles north-west of Aberdeen in Oldmeldrum, an old market town, Glen Garioch (pronounced Glen ‘Geery’) is a distillery that isn’t often in the spotlight. One of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, it was founded in 1797 by the Manson brothers, farmers and respected members of the community that first set up the distillery site as a brewery.

Image

Glen Garioch distillery on a cold, bright November's day

When visiting the distillery, which is just a short walk from Oldmeldrum’s market square (home to an award-winning bakers if you need to pick up some of Aberdeenshire’s famed butteries whilst you’re here!), the most striking aspect is its unique location in the centre of this quiet village. It’s hard to imagine the transportation of casks, distillery equipment and raw materials that must trundle through this tranquil town. The distillery is so much at the heart of the village that it even has a public road running directly through the distillery site (aptly named Distillery Road).

Like many distilleries, Glen Garioch changed hands several times throughout its history - from blenders JG Thomson & Co of Leith to William Mark Sanderson of VAT 69, Scottish Malt Distillers (later DCL) & Stanley P. Morrison prior to Suntory’s takeover of Morrison Bowmore Distillers and ultimate ownership in 1995.

For most of the 20th century it was self-sufficient, malting its own barley using peat from Pitsligo, giving it a unique smoky character. In 1968, Glen Garioch was shortlisted by then-owners DCL (what has now become the cornerstone of Diageo), to convert to producing a heavily peated spirit to make up for a shortfall on Islay caused by a drought that affected the maltings at Caol Ila, Lagavulin and Port Ellen. Due to a history of water-shortages, DCL instead decided to re-open the Brora distillery in Sutherland as a solution, and close Glen Garioch down. A fateful decision, Glen Garioch was later sold to the Stanley P. Morrison company and prospered under their ownership.

Image

Selection of Glen Garioch selections from Samaroli

A distillery with a future that hasn’t always been certain, one person that did have the foresight to see a future in the distillery was Silvano Samaroli. Samaroli was previously an official Italian distributor for Glen Garioch and through his access to some exceptional casks selected a 1971 Glen Garioch as part of his earliest foray into the realm of independent bottling. Bottled at 59.6% in 1979, this full-strength bottling is widely considered one of the finest examples of balancing the strong characters produced by peat and sherry casks. Thanks to that, it is Serge Valentin’s favourite expression from the distillery on WhiskyFun.com.

Samaroli’s affinity with Glen Garioch was such that after purchasing too much 1975 Glen Garioch, he decided to create the Coilltean brand which allowed him to create a greater diversity of labels. Glen Garioch selections were present in a number of his iconic collections including the Flowers, Handwritten Labels and Fragments of Scotland series'. In 1997, Silvano also released a single cask ‘Very Limited Edition’ in homage to his original 1971 vintage bottling, restricted to only 300 bottles at 43%.

Image

Selection of sought-after official and exclusive bottlings from the Glen Garioch distillery.

The distillery has also released a number of sought-after official bottlings that hail from prior to the distillery's temporary closure in 1968 and showcase Glen Garioch’s lost signature style. These distillates represent what was produced from the original water source, in-house malting facility and peated malt. This includes a collection of extremely rare single cask bottlings from the last DCL-era vintage of 1968 bottled at 29 and 34 years of age, and a famed series of 1965 21 year old official bottlings that were bottled around 1986 at three different strengths – 43%, 50% and 57%.

The distillery also produced a number of exclusive bottlings over the years which have become highly coveted, including a highly-rated series of single casks specially selected for Oddbins in the 1990s. Vintages range across the 1960s and 1970s, including a legendary 1971 vintage (remember the aforementioned Samaroli bottling) that received 95 points by Serge Valentin on WhiskyFun.com.

Image

New floor maltings re-instated at Glen Garioch distillery

The whisky produced at the distillery today is considered ‘post-revival’ Glen Garioch, a new unpeated style since its reopening in 1997. Their core range is small, consisting of a non age Founders Reserve and 12 Year Old. However, this is regularly bolstered with small-batch releases such as the Virgin Oak and Rennaissance series, Vintage releases and unique maturations. Glen Garioch's whisky is rather under-the-radar, however, it has received praise for its thick, oily texture and honeyed heather flavour profile.

It is incredibly heartening to see one of Scotland's oldest distilleries not only rewind in history with the re-introduction of traditional methods such as in-house floor maltings and direct-firing of their wash still, but to also be welcoming to innovative technologies and reducing their carbon footprint. Glen Garioch is currently the focus of a 21-month trial project using zero emission hydrogen to fire their stills as they explore this new technology for decarbonising the Scotch whisky industry.

As part of the behemoth that is Beam-Suntory, Glen Garioch’s lower production volume puts it in a unique position to its sister distilleries. It will be an exciting distillery to watch as its production progresses over the next few decades, acting as an incubation hub for the company’s experimental approach in Scotch.