Extremely limited

Connoisseurs and completionists only!

For the details…

Speyside has Scotland’s highest concentration of distilleries, accounting for somewhere between one third and one quarter of the country’s operational facilities. Not all of them can be superstars, and Glentauchers is one of many Speysiders to barely make a dent in the popular imagination.

Part of the late 19th distilling boom, Glentauchers was built in 1898 by James Buchanan & Co and WP Laurie to provide fillings for the Buchanan’s and Black and White blends.  In the early 20th century, there was experimentation with the rather unusual technique of continuous pot still distillation. Buchanan’s merged with DCL in 1925, whereupon Glentauchers came under that firm’s purview. 

It was expanded from 2 to 6 still in the mid-1960s during a boom period, and then mothballed in 1985 during the slump of the 1980s. DCL offloaded the distillery to Allied in 1989, and production resumed in 1992. It was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005 when Pernod bought Allied. The new ownership has shown little more interest in bottling it as a single than any of the prior owners, with only a handful of rather obscure 40% abv bottlings under the Ballantine’s imprint alongside equally obscure stablemates Glenburgie and Miltonduff, and occasional one-offs in the distillery reserve collection.

Fortunately, Glentauchers finds its way to market on a semi-regular basis through independent bottlers, including a semi-official Gordon & Macphail distillery labels bottling. This Signatory entry was distilled in 1996, and bottled in 2015 after roughly 18 years in a bourbon cask. The angels were greedy with this one, since it is cask strength even at the relatively mild 48.8% abv. A rather heavy, rich, fruity whisky, with faint traces of smoke, it is quite pleasant and enjoyable without being especially memorable or distinctive.

Glentauchers 1996 (Signatory) 48.8% abv

Nose: Distinctly metallic–tin can. Floral–carnations or roses? Candied orange. Cedar box. Woody, apples, cranberry juice. Pinon incense. Some baked apple.

Body: Medium to full, with a slightly chalky texture.

Palate: On the big side. Still some tin can, and also some smoke, gunpowder, and even a trace of beefiness. Strawberries, raspberries and cream. More wood. Ripe black cherries. Graphite.

Finish: Still with the cedar; much dryer. Just the faintest hint of struck match. On the short side. 

Score: 82/100

Who should buy it?: Connoisseurs and completionists, if you can find it at all. Unless you’re really, really all-in on single malt Scotch, this one probably isn’t worth your while, although it’s certainly worth trying if some kind soul pours you a dram.

Overall thoughts: Quite tasty, but given the limited nature of this bottling, it’s going to be hard to lay a hand on that. Given that there is plenty of better whisky out there–including, probably, from this arcane distillery, I wouldn’t bother trying to find this specific expression.

Bottling Information:

Expression: Glentauchers 1996 48.8% abv

Bottler: Signatory

Range: Cask Strength Collection

Bottle Code: n/a

Presentation: Unchillfiltered and natural color

Details: Distilled 1996, bottled 2014, ~18 years old, cask #1398, bottle #174/185, matured in a bourbon cask

Price: $95

Availability: Extremely limited–auction only, if there are any left at all.

Distillery Information:

Region: Speyside

Location: Mulben, Morayshire

Geography: Inland

Date Founded: 1898

Owner: Pernod-Ricard

Website: https://www.pernod-ricard.com/en

Capacity: 4,100,000

Plant Summary: MASH TUN: Lauter; WASHBACKS: 6 Wood; STILLS: 6; HEAT SOURCE: Heavy fuel oil fired steam boiler; CONDENSER: Shell and Tube

Total expressions sampled: 1

Overall distillery score: n/a

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