Glenfarclas The Family Casks by Glenfarclas

TASTING BOOKLET

The Distillery

In 1865, Glenfarclas Distillery, nestled in the heart of Speyside, was purchased by a cattle breeder named John Grant. Today, the Glenfarclas spirit still lives strong and continues in family ownership under the direction of the 5th generation, John Grant.

Glenfarclas means ‘Valley of the Green Grassland’ and the spring water, which ensures the verdant green grass, is essential to the distinct flavour of Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Whisky. It bubbles up, crystal clear, from the underlying granite on the slopes of the Speyside mountain, Ben Rinnes, to supply the distillery below.

There, it is combined with the finest malted barley, twice distilled in traditional, direct fired, copper pot stills and only the lightest and best fractions of alcohol are collected, to be matured in the finest Sherry oak casks over many years.

Times may have changed, but it’s what has stayed the same that makes Glenfarclas unique: the five generations of Grant family pride and the revered quality of their famous Single Malt Whisky.

The 1950s

The 1950s were good for Glenfarclas. The repeal of the 1880 Spirits Act, which had prohibited simultaneous mashing and distilling (primarily for the convenience of excise men), effectively doubled capacity. Along with the relaxation of barley rationing, it allowed production to increase significantly. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Glenfarclas’ oldest stocks are from this period. With increased production came further investment, and four new distillery houses were completed in 1955.

However, the whole industry was experiencing similar growth. Mothballed distilleries were reopened and whisky production reached new levels; all with one inevitable consequence - the filling price began to fall. In 1952, the market filling price was 16 shillings per original proof gallon. It would not be until the mid-1960s before the price returned to this high level.

It was in 1954 when the warehouse doors at Glenfarclas were first painted bright signal red. They’ve been that way ever since; familiar to all who visit the distillery.

In 1958, there was an even more radical event at Glenfarclas - the appointment of the first female member of staff, Maureen Greig. It was a sign of the times, further emphasised when they decided to take a Christmas holiday for the first time! As a result, the last Christmas Day filling is from 25th December, 1959.

Tasting

2014 Fill, Cask 1259, 59 Year Old, Plain Butt 46.7% ABV

NOTES : Glenfarclas 1954 Family Cask Summer

The 1960s

If the 1950s had been good, the start of the next decade promised to be even better.

In 1960, Glenfarclas produced more than double what they produced in 1952, leading to the addition of a second set of stills at the distillery. Increased production also meant they needed more water so, in 1961 a new pipeline was laid on Ben Rinnes to feed water into the Green Burn, Glenfarclas’ traditional supply. Sales were so good, they simply couldn’t keep up with demand and, in 1961, they found themselves in the unusual position of having to ration the sale of new-make Glenfarclas to the blenders. The first exports of Glenfarclas 12 Years Old went to Switzerland in 1962, to the US in 1963 and West Germany in 1964.

During that time, the Grant Bonding Company was established to bottle Glenfarclas under bond for export. However, it wasn’t until 1965 that permission was finally granted by HM Customs and Excise to do so at the company’s Elgin warehouse.

Shortly afterwards, a 50 per cent share in Grant Bonding was sold to the brokers and blenders, Gordon & McPhail.

The 1960s were a time of change, and the closure of the Speyside Railway meant all coal and barley was subsequently delivered by road. But it was also a time of sadness, with the death in 1965 of distillery manager William Strathdee - after 43 years’ service. This loyal service is by no means unique. On Boxing Day, 1966, Annette Tweedie joined Glenfarclas as a clerkess, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, father, uncles and cousins, who had all worked for the distillery. Indeed, when Annette retired in 2007, after 40 years with the company, it was the end of an era - the first time since 1890 that Glenfarclas did not have a Stronach, a Thomson or a Tweedie on the payroll. All these families will remember the uncertainty of 1968, when the Distillers Company Ltd (now Diageo) wrote to advise that they didn’t plan to fill any Glenfarclas in 1969.

Fortunately, they did, but this event prompted the laying down of more stocks for their own bottlings; Glenfarclas anticipated sales of bottled whisky would be it’s future. Without that foresight, they would not have been able to release The Family Casks. So, please raise your glass to George S. Grant!

Tasting

Glenfarclas 1969 Family Cask

Summer 2016 Fill, Cask 2451, 47 Year Old, Refill Butt

56.10% ABV

NOTES :

The 1970s

Demand for Glenfarclas continued to increase and, in October 1970, the distillery was being run with a record 15 mashes each week. However, this cause was not helped by some particularly dry summers. Due to drought, it would not be until the end of November in 1972 before the distillery could run at full production after the summer ‘silent season’. And so, in his diary entry for 30th April, 1973, George S. Grant describes a late spring snowfall as ‘white gold’.

With demand for Glenfarclas outstripping supply, the priority at the time was to increase capacity. Therefore, a deal with Chivas Brothers in 1973 could not have come at a better time. Not only was it one of Glenfarclas’ largest filling orders ever, it was secured for 20 years, allowing Glenfarclas to press ahead with expansion plans. The malt barns and kiln were converted into an expanded mash house, tun room and mill, and two new stills were added. By 1975, the project was complete - and the capacity of the distillery had been doubled. Despite the high demand, the early 70s presented major challenges in the form of industrial unrest and rapid inflation. In 1972, the distillery had to stop production for a month due to the miners’ strike and the resulting power shortages. However, they did manage to maintain production during the haulage drivers’ strike of 1974despite pickets at the front gate - by using private transport and the back road to deliver malt and yeast.

Meanwhile, rapid inflation was playing havoc with the cost of raw materials. The price for malted barley doubled from £57/tonne in 1973 to £114/tonne in 1974. Fuel prices too were soaring, and Glenfarclas questioned it’s decision to convert the stills from coal to gas in 1973 when the price rose from £22.50/tonne to £48.50/tonne within a year.

In 1973, Glenfarclas opened it’s distillery visitor centre, one of the first in the country. They had always welcomed guests but, as interest in distilleries grew and numbers increased, it was becoming impractical for their production staff to look after them.

Construction of the visitor centre was unconventional to say the least. At auction, wooden panels were bought from the first class smoking lounge on the ocean liner, Empress of Australia, and the centre was designed around them. Interest in distillery tours, featuring a dram in the ‘ships room’, was exceptional. Glenfarclas saw 1000 guests in the first month alone.

In 1974, George Grant joined the family firm. One of the first distributors that he appointed was Mahler-Besse SA in France; they remain Glenfarclas’ French distributor today. A notable visitor was Margaret Thatcher, who visited for lunch and a dram in May 1977. There were no such indulgences for John Miller, who was under the legal drinking age when he joined the company as a cooper in 1978. Fifteen years later, he had worked his way up to Distillery Manager.

Tasting

Glenfarclas 1972 Family Cask

Winter 2015 Fill, Cask 3548, 42 Year Old, Sherry Butt

45.6% ABV

NOTES :

The 1980s

During the 1980s, as the industry was cutting back on production, Glenfarclas’ was increasing. Sales of Glenfarclas grew by 20 per cent in 1981, but any celebration was quickly tempered by a series of tragic events, particularly the death of their production manager, Douglas Macdonald. Earlier, in May 1981, No.1 wash still collapsed. Seven days later, No.2 Spirit Safe caught fire. Then, in May 1982, we suffered an explosion in the malt mill.

It was also a gloomy period for the whisky industry overall and, in 1984, Distillers Company Ltd closed eleven malt distilleries and two bottling halls. However, George S. Grant, never one to follow the pack, gambled that the cutbacks would lead to a shortage in five to six years time and declared that the distillery would ‘swim upstream’ and increase production. 1984 saw J. & G. Grant establish a joint venture with Peter J Russell & Co Ltd to purchase and run Broxburn Bottlers Ltd, giving Glenfarclas full control of it’s own bottlings, under bond. However, as one joint venture was established, another came to an end. Glenfarclas had established Ballindalloch Feed Products with Tormore, Aberlour and Glenlivet distilleries.

This was to process the waste draff and pot ale to produce dark grains for the animal feeds industry. However, the increasing cost of fuel and decreasing cost of feed sadly made it uneconomical to continue.

In 1986, Glenfarclas celebrated it’s 150th anniversary of legal licensed distilling in style, with a series of dinners and ceilidhs for their distributors, staff and friends.

They also released a limited edition 150th Anniversary bottling, for which Philip Hutcheon, their Office Manager, and George Grant selected seven of Glenfarclas’ best casks from the 1960s to vat together.

As their family has been farming since 1970, it was a sad end to an era when in 1988, in the face of increased EEC intervention, Glenfarclas took the decision to stop farming Rechlerich. They had finally become full-time distillers.

Shortly afterwards, Glenfarclas had to deal with one of the most aggressive takeover attempts they have ever been subjected to, by one of the large groups. They resisted. Galvanised by the struggle perhaps, exports of Glenfarclas increased by 30 per cent.

Tasting

Glenfarclas 1987 Family Cask

Summer 2022 Fill, Cask 1495, 35 Year Old, 4 th Fill Butt 48.0% ABV

NOTES :

The 1990s

The spring of 1990 was one of the driest on record for Glenfarclas and they were desperate for rain. For a bit of fun, they asked BBC weatherman Ian McCaskill to open the new filling store they had just built. What happened? Their plan worked a treat - no sooner had he left than there was a much-welcome downpour.

Glenfarclas also completed two new warehouses that year, but suffered a little on the sales side. Blenders reduced their filling orders and sales of their cased goods lost ground, due to the Gulf War and the recession in the UK and USA.

As already mentioned, John Miller joined the company in 1978, when he was still under the legal drinking age. By 1993, he was their brewer, experienced in all aspects of Glenfarclas production and ready to be promoted to Distillery Manager.

John’s first year as Distillery Manager in 1994 turned out to be an interesting one. Malcolm Greenwood, the Sales Director at the time, received a letter from a gentleman in Illinois asking if Glenfarclas would be interested in a case of whisky which had been delivered to his father in the 1930s. After doing their sums, Glenfarclas realised that, if genuine, it would be the oldest unopened case of Glenfarclas in existence!

So precious was the consignment that British Airways arranged a First Class seat for the case on their return home. Today, it remains unopened and is stored in a secret location on Speyside.

Later in 1994, Kenneth Clark, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, visited the distillery and filled a cask for them. When it was ready, Glenfarclas decided to bottle it as part of The Family Casks collection. Much has changed at Glenfarclas over the years but many things stay the same. They remain committed to ensuring that what is produced today meets their forefather’s exacting standards and is matured in the best possible casks, in traditional dunnage warehouses.

Tasting

Glenfarclas 1994 Family Cask

Summer 2022 Fill, Cask 4323, 27 Year Old, 4 th Fill Butt

45.4% ABV

NOTES :

The 2000s

The past twenty years have been good ones for the company, which can face the future with justified confidence. The combination of a strong balance sheet, deep stock reserves, a wider customer base and a diversified product range will all serve Glenfarclas well.

This steady and well-founded progress has accompanied work on the distillery, notably in progress control systems, expanded warehouse capacity and major expenditure on a new effluent plant and add to the cask storage capacity. In addition, the factilities at the Broxburn Bottlers operation (a joint venture with Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd) have recieved very substantial investment to improve capacity, increase effciency and to add to the cask storage capacity. The employees have not been forgotten, and a new staff welfare block was opened for them. Around £3m has been spent here, as a result of which the Broxburn plant is now able to bottle over 40m bottles per annum in the most modern of facilities. Customers are drawn from all across the industry from some of the largest companies to small independent bottlers and a full range of spirits can be handled in sizes of up to 6 litres.

But, more significant than all of those factors, important though they are, is the long-term nature of family ownership. A commitment to the spirit of independence continues to drive Glenfarclas into the 21st century.