Glen Keith 1983

Glen Keith was built by Canadian drinks giant, Seagram, in the late 1950s to supply malt for their Chivas, 100 Pipers and Passport blends. The distillery was an experimental facility, with a range of different still types, trialling different mash and yeast types, and methods of peat smoking. One of the peated variants it produced was the rare Glenisla. Seagram collapsed in the early 2000s, and Glen Keith was perhaps an early indication of its ill-fate, closing in 1999. It was re-opened in 2013 by Chivas Brothers, who continue its experimental traditions by housing their lab there. Despite its importance to Seagram blends, Glen Keith was always deemed worthy of bottling as a single malt, both by the distillery and by independent companies. 

The Glen Keith single malt brand was launched in 1994 as part of the Heritage Collection, which also launched new brands for Longmorn, Benriach and Strathisla. This followed similar packages from United Distillers called the Classic Malts in 1988, and the Caledonian Malts from Allied Distillers in 1991 as the historic blending powerhouses of Scotland slowly adapted to the newly buoyant single malt market at the time.

The Glen Keith expression first introduced in the Heritage Collection was this 1983 vintage, however it was quickly replaced by a 10 year old.