Glenfarclas’s story
The Glenfarclas distillery near the Speyside village of Ballindalloch is operated by the Grant family. They are intertwined with the history of the place and are as important as the whisky. The sixth generation is currently in charge with the legacy set to continue further. Glenfarclas is the second-oldest family owned single malt distillery in Scotland, just pipped by the Mitchell family and Springbank (1828).
The distillery is know for its rich and robust spirit, plus its use of ex-sherry casks. They use pretty much nothing else and were one of the first to work out that the two marry together superbly. Much of the whisky produced there is released as single malts and the distillery has somewhat of a cult following. It is rarely seen in independent bottlings or used in blends. The Grant’s hold some of the oldest maturing stocks in Scotland and this allows them to release to some very rare whiskies.
Glenfarclas’s history
Glenfarclas was founded by Robert Hay in 1836. It is said that an illegal distillery has operated on the site since the late-1790s. Hay operated the distillery for almost 30 years until his death in 1865. Glenfarclas was taken over by John Grant and his son George. This began the Grant family’s association with the distillery, which remains today. They initially leased it to John Smith at The Glenlivet distillery nearby.
Smith left to start Cragganmore in 1870 and J. & G. Grant Ltd took full control. John and George Grant died within a year of each other – John in 1889 and George in 1890. George’s widow Elsie took ownership with her sons John and George (everyone seems to be called John or George during the family’s history) looking after production. The late-1890s saw financial difficulty thanks to the infamous Pattison Crash, but the distillery survived where several others did not. Glenfarclas has been passed down several generations of the Grant family. They are now on the sixth.
In 1948, the distillery belatedly celebrated its centenary after original plans were scrapped due to the impending World War II. Twenty years later in 1968, they made the pioneering move of releasing the first ever core cask strength single malt by anyone in Scotland. This remains today and is now called Glenfarclas 105. In 1973, Glenfarclas was also one of the first distillery’s in Scotland to open a visitor centre.
- How to pronounce Glenfarclas? glen-fark-lass
- Country: Scotland
- Region: Speyside
- Founded: 1836
- Current owners: J. & G. Grant
- Production capacity per year: 3.5 million litres
- Mash tun: 16.5 ton
- Washbacks: 12
- Stills: 6
- Visitor centre: Yes
Glenfarclas Distillery
Ballindalloch
Banffshire
AB37 9BD
tel – +44(0) 1807 500257
www.glenfarclas.com
Did you know?
The mash tun at Glenfarclas is the largest in Scotland with a capacity of 16.5 tonnes. And thanks to its continuous family ownership, the distillery has some of the oldest remaining casks in the Scotch industry. This allows the to release The Family Casks – a series of ongoing single cask releases spanning 40+ consecutive years.
Glenfarclas
