Glen Elgin 1971 Cadenhead's / Dival di Gabri

Glen Elgin was built in at the very end of the 19th century, with distilling commencing in 1900. Its success was sporadic in the early days, but it eventually joined DCL in 1930 as part of their White Horse Distillers arm. Unusually, the distillery had no electricity until 1950, and was entirely powered by paraffin until then. Although a key component in their blends, the fruity character of Glen Elgin was deemed worthy of being bottled as a single malt too, appearing as a 12 year old under White Horse branding from as early as the 1970s, with occasional sought after independent releases appearing from around this time onwards as well.

Wm. Cadenhead is Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, founded in 1842 by George Duncan. His brother William Cadenhead joined the company in 1952, taking over after George’s death in 1958. The company got into the whisky bottling business after 1904, when his nephew Robert Duthie took over, and since its sale to J&A Mitchell in 1972, Wm. Cadenhead has become on of the most sought after names in whisky. Its Authentic Collection is the flagship brand, but the portfolio of the company has expanded in recent years with labels like this.

An incredibly rare expression from this lesser known Speysider. Distilledin 1971 and bottled in 1990.