Single Malt Lexikon



NAME  PRODUCER   REGION   DISTRICT  COPY  STYLE 
CARDHU   United Distillers  Highlands   Speyside   Although it existed illicitly before its official establishment in 1824, this distillery was rebuilt in 1872 by Elizabeth Cumming, the founder's daughter-in-law, who is still remembered as one of the great figures of the industry. Her son became a director of Johnnie Walker, and at least one of her descendants is still in the whisky business. The slightly syrupy, sweetish whisky of Cardhu has always been the soft heart of the Johnnie Walker blends (in which it is balanced by the feistily evident Talisker, among many others). In recent years, it has been widely marketed as a single malt. Independent bottlings can occasionally be found, sometimes using older spellings of the name. Cardhu is on a hillside near the Spey, in the heart of malt-whisky country.  Light, smooth, sweetish, delicate. 
CRAGGANMORE  United Distillers   Highlands   Speyside   One of the great Speyside malts, but less widely known than might be expected. This is a whisky for the connoisseur, from a relatively small distillery, although it is promoted in United Distillers' "Classic Malts" range. Cragganmore is a respected distillery, founded in 1869 and boasting an interesting history. It is very pretty, hidden in a hollow high on the Spey. Its water, from nearby springs, is relatively hard, and its spirit stills have an unusual, flat-topped shape. These two elements may be factors in the complexity of the malt, which is matured in re-fill sherry casks. The malt is used in the Macallum blends, which are popular in Australasia.  Austere, stonily dry, aromatic. After dinner. 
DALWHINNIE  United Distillers   Highlands   Speyside   The highest distillery in Scotland, at 326m (1,073ft), Dalwhinnie lies in a glen, with the Monadhlaith Mountains to one side, and the Forest of Atholl, the Cairngorms and the Grampians to the other. Its name is Gaelic for "meeting place". The village of the same name stands at the junction of old cattle-droving routes from the west and north down to the central Lowlands. Much whisky smuggling went on along this route. The distillery was called Strathspey when it opened in 1897. Stretching a point, it can regard itself as being on Speyside, although it is 25 miles or more from the dense distillery country to the north. Its malt whisky has traditionally been an important component of the Buchanan blends, and it represents the Highlands in United Distillers' "Classic Malts" range.  Lightly peaty. Aperitif. 
GLENFIDDICH  William Grant and Sons  Highlands   Speyside (Dufftown)  The Glen of the River Fiddich gives its name to the biggest-selling single malt whisky in the world. The Glenfiddich distillery lies on the small river whose name it bears, in Dufftown. The name Fiddich indicates that the river runs through the valley of the deer - hence the company's emblem: a stag. Glenfiddich spent some time waiting to be discovered. The distillery was founded in 1886-87, and is still owned by the original family as a limited company. Nonetheless, it made an early start in the business of bottling single malts. As a small family company, it faced intense competition from bigger names during the economic boom after the Second World War. In 1963, it decided to market its whisky as a single malt outside Scotland. For many years, companies in the industry regarded this as foolishness. The received wisdom of the whisky business was that single malts were too intense in palate for the English and other foreigners. The vision and persistence of the company was in more than one sense single-minded. It was an example and precedent, without which few of its rivals would have been emboldened ot offer themselves as bottled single malts. Devotees of the genre owe a debt of gratitude to Glenfiddich. The early start laid the foundations for the success of Glenfiddich. The fact that it is, among malts, one of the less challenging to the palate undoubtedly helped a great deal. Glenfiddich in its usual form (no age statement, but said to be eight years old) is very easily drinkable: a light, smooth malt with a hint of fruitiness. It is labelled "Special Old Reserve". Devotees of malts who are ready for a greater challenge will find more complexity, at a price, in the elaborately packaged 18-, 21- and 30-year-old versions that are now available. In 1991, nine casks of a 50-year-old were bottled. These were sold in London at around US $5,000 each, but on fetched US $70,000 in an auction in Milan. For its age, the whisky was surprisingly rounded and chocolatey, without excessive oakiness. The company also owns the long-established Balvenie and new Kininvie malt distilleries. The principal malt may be close to the mainstream, but the distillery is full of character. Much of the original structure, in honey-and-grey stone, remains beautifully maintained, and the style has been followed in considerable new construction. A truly traditional element is the use of coal-fired stills. The stills are small, and the whisky is principally aged in plain oak, although about ten per cent goes into sherry casks. Whisky aged in different woods is married in plain oak. Glenfiddich likes jokingly to describe its malt as "Château-bottled". The distillery is unusual in that it has its own bottling line on the premises. The only other malt distillery with bottling facilities is Springbank, where a very small line is also used for the Cadenhead range. William Grant no longer sells whisky for blending under the Glenfiddich name, the intention being to ensure that the company can guarantee the origin of any whisky bearing this name. Like several other distillers, it feels that its label should be used only on whisky aged according to its own practices. Cadenhead, however, has marketed some older ages of single-malt whisky under the name Glenfiddich-Glenlivet.  When young, a dry, fruity aperitif; when more mature, a raisiny, chocolatey after-dinner malt. 
GLENKINCHIE  United Distillers  Lowlands  Eastern Lowlands  Glenkinchie is near the village of Pencaitland, about 15 miles from Edinburgh, between the soft, green Lammermuir Hills and the small coastal resorts where the Firth of Forth meets the sea. It is in the glen of the Kinchie, a tributary of the Scottish River Tyne (not to be confused with the English one of the same name). The distillery, which has its own bowling green, is set in farmland. In the 1940s and 1950s, the distillery manager bred prize-winning cattle, feeding them on the spent grain. In 1968, the former floor maltings were turned into a museum of malt whisky. Among the exhibits is a beautifully crafted model of the distillery which was built in 1924 by the firm of Basset- Lowke, better known for their model steam engines. It was constructed for the 1924 Empire Exhibition at Wembley, London. The distillery was founded in the 1830s and largely rebuilt between the two World Wars. Its whisky was launched as a bottled single in the "Classic Malts" range in 1988-89.  Flowery start, complex flavours and a dry finish. A restorative, especially after a walk in the hills. 
GLENLIVET  Seagram/Chivas  Highlands  Speyside (Livet)  What Grande Champagne is to Cognac, the glen of the River Livet is to Speyside. The only whisky allowed to call itself "The Glenlivet" is historically the most famous Speyside malt. The definite article is restricted even further in that it appears on only the official bottlings from the owning company of The Glenlivet distillery, Seagram. These are branded as The Glenlivet, with the legend "Distilled by George & J. G. Smith" in small type at the bottom of the label, referring to the company that was set up by the father and son who originally founded the distillery. The independent bottlers Gordon and MacPhail have made something of a speciality of older and vintage-dated examples of The Glenlivet, in a variety of alcoholic strengths; these are identified as George & J. G. Smith's Glenlivet Whisky. This range changes according to availability. The glen of the Livet is also the home of two other malt distilleries: the unconnected Tamnavulin, and Braes of Glenlivet, which is also owned by Seagram. In the adjoining Avon valley, the Tomintoul distillery is also generally regarded as belonging to the Livet district. It is, indeed, in the parish of Glenlivet. All of these distilleries use the subtitle "Glenlivet" on their labels as an appellation of district. So, stretching a point, do about a dozen from other parts of Speyside. This practice, which has declined somewhat, dates from the glen's pioneering position in commercial whisky production. Merchants in the cities wanted whisky "from Glenlivet" because that was the first specific district of production that they knew by name. The malts that are produced in and immediately around the glen are all delicate and elegant. These characteristics are sometimes regarded as being the "glen" style. The malt from Braes of Glenlivet is light, honeyish and flowery. Of its neighbours, Tamnavulin is lightest in body, and Tomintoul in palate. Within this style of delicate, elegant malts, The Glenlivet has the most body and definition. Opinion is divided as to how much its renown derives from history and how much from its character, but the latter should not be underrated. In blindfold tastings, it shows itself to be a complex malt. It is distilled from water with a dash of hardness, and a mix of lightly and well-peated malts. About a third of the whisky is said to be matured in sherry wood. Just as Grande Champagne rests on soil that grows the grapes best suited to Cognac, so the glen of the Livet has clean spring water that makes especially delicate whiskies. Among the distilling districts, it is the one most deeply set into the mountains. Its water rises from granite, and frequently flows underground for many miles. The mountain setting also provides for the weather that whisky-makers like. When distilling is in progress, the condensers work most effectively if cooled by very cold water, and in a climate to match. The location also favoured illicit production in the days when commercial distilling was banned, and is a significant reason for the renown of the glen. There are said to have been a couple of hundred illicit stills in the wild mountain country around the Livet in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The district was also a haven for whisky-smugglers on their way over the mountains to the bigger cities and ports in the Midlands and south of Scotland. At that time, partly because of grain shortages but also for reasons of political vindictiveness, the Highlanders were permitted to distill only on a domestic scale. The modern distilling industry began after the Duke of Gordon proposed more accommodating legislation. One of his tenants, already working outside the law, was the first to apply for a new licence in 1824. This enterprising character was from a family variously known by the Scottish name "Gow" and the English-sounding "Smith". It has over the years been thought that the family had supported Bonnie Prince Charlie, but recent research suggests that this was not the case. George Smith founded the distillery that became The Glenlivet. His son, John Gordon Smith, assisted and succeeded him. After distilling on two other sites nearby, the Smiths moved in 1858 to the present location. In 1880, the exclusive designation "The Glenlivet" was granted in a test case. The company remained independent until 1935 and was acquired by Seagram in 1977. Not far from the hamlet of Glenlivet, the distillery stands at a point where the grassy valley is already beginning to steepen towards the mountains. Some original buildings remain, and the offices occupy a handsome 1920s house. Far from its mountain home, and helped by the marketing power of Seagram, The Glenlivet has become the biggest-selling single malt in the large American market.  Flowery, fruity, peachy. Aperitif. 
GLENMORANGIE  Macdonald and Muir  Highlands  Northern Highlands  The biggest-selling malt in Scotland, but from a small company. Glenmorangie (the Scots pronounce it to rhyme with "orangey") made an early start: it has been available as a single since the 1920s. It is an easy taste to embrace - a fairly light, sweetish, flowery, spicy malt, in which a French perfume house reported finding 26 fragrances, from almond, bergamot and cinnamon to verbena, vanilla and wild mint. The water flows through sandstone and is hard. The countryside is rich in heather and clover. Lightly peated malt is used, and a house yeast that imparts an estery, fruity note. The stills are the tallest in Scotland at 5.13 metres (16ft 101Ž4in) and probably contribute a delicacy to the spirit. A very narrow cut is taken. The character of the principal version, a 10-year-old, is also shaped by the exclusive use of Bourbon wood in ageing. The same wood is used in the maturation of the single-cask version first released in 1900. This product is rather fussily identified as "The Native Ross-shire Glenmorangie". The distillery, at Tain, is in the county of Ross-shire. All of its whisky is, of course, native to that county. In the same year, Glenmorangie also introduced an 18-year-old, which in some markets carries a vintage date. This broke ground by spending its last 18 months in sherry casks. In 1993, to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary, a 21-year-old was filled into a stoneware "lemonade" bottle, and there have been older vintages, which sell out very quickly. In 1994, a version of Glenmorangie was released that had been matured in port pipes for two to three years. Whichever wood is used, the Glenmorangie malts also gain a dimension of character from the coastal location of the distillery. Not only is there the faintest hint of seaweed in the malt, its maturation is also made smoother by the relatively narrow band of temperatures on the coast. All of Glenmorangie's output is now bottled as a single malt, and the distillery is unusual in that respect. It has been owned since 1918 by Macdonald and Muir, who are also the proprietors of Glen Moray.  Delicately spicy. In younger ages, an aperitif; in older ages, after dinner. 
LAGAVULIN  United Distillers  Islay  South shore  The classic Islay whisky, with the driest start of any single malt. More instantly assertive even than its neighbours, Ardbeg and Laphroaig, it also has a more sustained power and a greater complexity. Intensely dry, from its pungent bouquet to its astonishing long finish. Its attack is reminiscent of Lapsang Souchong tea, but supported by a big, malty, sweetish (Darjeeling this time?) background. The third generous element is sherry. A big, immensely sophisticated whisky. Some devotees feel that the dryness is better expressed in the 12-year-old, which was the principal version until largely replaced by the 16-year-old. Others feel that the greater sherry character of the 16-year-old makes for a more complete symphony. Decanter magazine compared the relationship of Lagavulin and Laphroaig on Islay with that of Cheval Blanc and Petrus in Bordeaux. In name at least, Lagavulin must be the Cheval Blanc, as it contributes malt whisky to the White Horse blends, and the animal decorates the distillery sign. The distillery's water arrives by way of a fast-flowing stream that no doubt picks up plenty of peat on the way there. The maturation warehouses are battered by the sea, and they have their own jetty. Lagavulin (pronounced "lagga-voolin") means "the hollow where the mill is". There are reputed to have been ten illicit stills on this bay in the mid-1700s. There were two distilleries here in the early 1800s, and they combined in the 1830s.  Dry, smoky, complex. Restorative or nightcap. 
OBAN  United Distillers  Highlands  Western Highlands  If the western Highlands has a capital, it is the town of Oban. If the region has a classic malt, it is the one bearing the town's name. The western Highlands mainland does not have many distilleries, but its whiskies tend to be well-rounded and malty, with some smokiness. This is still a thinly populated part of Scotland. The first settlers arrived by sea and came to this coast in 5000 BC, making their homes in caves in the cliffside. That story, and a later account of Scottish invasion from Antrim in Ireland, are told on the label of the 14-year-old Oban, in "The Classic Malts" series offered by United Distillers. This version is replacing the 12-year-old, which was put into a bottle that looked as though it contained perfume. The traveller returning from the islands of Mull or Iona, or from Fingal's Cave, sees Oban as a Victorian town, with the distillery growing out of those cliffside caves. The distillery is said to have been founded in 1794, though the present buildings probably date from the 1880s. The stillhouse was rebuilt in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and there was further work in 1991. The Oban malt whisky has contributed to the various John Hopkins blends, including one that is romantically called "Old Mull".  Medium, with fresh peat and a whiff of the sea. With seafood or game, or after dinner. 
TALISKER  United Distillers  Highlands  Skye  One of the most individualistic of single malts, with a powerful palate and an emphatic island character. What the bigger examples of Zinfandel are to wine, Talisker is to single malts. It has a distinctively peppery character, so hot as to make one taster's temples steam. The phrase "explodes on the palate" is among the descriptions used by blenders at United Distillers; surely they had Talisker in mind when they composed this. "The lava of the Cuillins" was another taster's response. The Cuillins are the dramatic hills of Skye, the island home of Talisker. The distillery is on the west coast of the island, on the shores of Loch Harport. After a number of false starts on other sites, the distillery was established in 1831 and expanded in 1900. For much of its life, it used triple-distillation, and in those days Robert Louis Stevenson ranked Talisker as a style on its own, comparable with the Islay and Glenlivet whiskies. It switched to double-distillation in 1928, and was partly rebuilt in 1960. Its 8-year-old bottled single malt has been replaced by a 10-year-old, which is featured in the United Distillers' "Classic Malts" range. Some malt-lovers prefer the dry assertiveness of Talisker at the lesser age, although the older version does have a fuller, more rounded character. A 14-year-old at 64.4 vol from Cadenhead, apparently without sherry, was full of sea-air, seaweed and pepper on the nose, and explosively peppery and salty in palate. A 15-year-old, from the same bottler at 56.4 vol was yellowy-brown, heavily sherried and dominated at first by the cask, but then followed by an astonishingly long development of distillery flavours. A 1955 at 53.6 vol from Gordon and MacPhail had a brighter, but still deep, amber-red colour. It seemed to have slightly less sherry and more oak, but again had considerable development. Although Talisker is the only distillery on Skye, the island is also home to a company making a vatted malt called Poit Dubh, and a blend, Te Bheag. Both are said to contain some Talisker, and their hearty palates seem to support this suggestion. A dry, perfumy, blended whisky called Isle of Skye is made by the Edinburgh merchants Ian Macleod and Co. The style of whisky liqueur represented by Drambuie is also said to have originated on Skye.  Volcanic. A winter warmer. 
THE BALVENIE  William Grant & Sons  Highlands  Speyside (Dufftown)  Next door to Glenfiddich, in Dufftown. The Balvenie was founded in 1892 and is owned by the same family company, but the whisky has quite a different style. The distillery uses barley from the family farm, has its own floor maltings, and its stills have a distinctive bulbous shape. In 1993 the company dispensed with its brandy-flask-shaped bottles and increased the number of official versions from two to three. The shape of the bottles had sought to assert the status of malt whisky, but perhaps such stratagems are no longer necessary. Further to the Founder's Reserve that is still produced, a Single Barrel Edition and the 12-year-old Double Wood have been introduced. The last has maturation similar to an earlier Balvenie Classic. At one stage there was also a Classic 18-year-old with no sherry finish.  The most honeyish of malts, with a distinctively orangey note. Luxurious. After dinner.