Glentauchers was one of a significant number of distilleries built in the last few years of the 19th century, just before the downfall of Patti sons who were whisky brokers based in Edinburgh. The Patti son brothers actually went to prison because of how they ran their business causing a number of distilleries of that time to go bankrupt with money owed to them by the brothers.
Glentauchers is located next to the Inverness to Aberdeen rail line on one side and the A95 trunk road making it ideal to get raw product delivered and matured whisky to market, that alongside a good quality water supply made the site very worthwhile.
With the first bricks being laid in 1897 and production starting the following year.
By 1906 the distillery was totally owned by James Buchanan, the whisky broker and blender, with the site going on to become the unofficial home of the Black & White blend, a whisky not really seen in the UK but a big international brand.
The distillery has passed through several companies over the years from Distillers Company Limited(DCL) which was absorbed into Diageo then Caledonian Malt Whisky Distillers(Allied) before finally becoming part of Chivas Brothers(Group Pernod Ricard in 2005.
The year 2000 saw a 15yo released which was bottled under licence by Gordon & MacPhail. In 2017 a 15yo was released by Chivas Brothers primarily for travel retail with a 23yo a couple of years later.
Now an integral part of the Ballantines blends, the future for Glentauchers is very positive.
Tasting Notes
Nose - Runny honey, sugared almonds, notes of melon, fruit cocktail, sweet and tangy, banana bread, toffee apple(red).
Palate - white chocolate, vanilla, creamy, sweet fruit notes continue throughout.
Finish - Mouth coating, juicy, beautiful balance, lingering.
