Glenburgie

Glenburgie is a large single malt distillery located close to the Speyside town of Forres. It was one of the first distilleries to establish itself as a consistent producer of spirit in the Speyside region, gaining popularity amongst blenders as a result. Now, it is known as a signature malt whisky for the popular Scotch blend of Ballantine's. Most of what is produced there is used for that. It has been associated with the blended brand since the late-1920s and is named after the nearby 16th century Burgie Castle.

Glenburgie is known for its light and fruity style. The new make spirit is highly fragrant and packed with cereal and green apple notes. This evolves towards tropical fruits in older expressions. It matures particularly well in American oak ex-bourbon barrels and the majority of Glenburgie's spirit is filled to these.

There are just two official bottlings from the distillery - the 15 year old and 18 year old. Both have been matured in bourbon barrels. There is also the 17 y.o. Cask Strength in The Distillery Reserve Collection, a range exclusive to Chivas Brothers visitor centres. Outside of this, a good source is independent bottlers. Companies such as Gordon & Macphail hold good stock of both younger and older casks, releasing them via their Connoisseur's Choice or Rare Old ranges.

Glenburgie is equipped with a Porteus mill that dates from the 1950s. A 7.5 tonne mash tun produces 35,000 litres of wort per batch and this feeds 12 stainless steel washbacks. The fermentation time is short at 52 hours. There are three pairs of large copper pot stills with an annual capacity of 4.2 million litres. Water for production is taken from five sources - a combination of natural springs, burns and a borehole well. There are eight warehouses on site - four traditional dunnage, two racked and two palletised.

Glenburgie was founded in 1810 by William Paul, although it was then known as Kilnflat. It was not until 1829 that 'official production' began after the distillery was granted a legal Permit To Distil. Prior to that everything had been illicit. Kilnflat closed in 1870, restarting in 1878 under new ownership. Charles Hay renamed it Glenburgie-Glenlivet.

Hay's ownership lasted just six years before he sold to Alexander Fraser & Co. in 1884. The company ran Glenburgie for over forty years before going bankrupt in 1925. The distillery sat dormant until James Barclay and R. A. McKinlay purchased it and started production in 1927. They had acquired the Ballantine's brand in 1919 and began using Glenburgie's spirit within it. Hiram Walker purchased a 60% share in their company in 1930, before buying Glenburgie outright in 1936.

One quirk is that Lomond stills were installed by Hiram Walker in 1958. They are a combination of copper pot and column stills, and rarely seen in Scotland. They operated for 13 years before being dismantled in 1981. Spirit from these is known as Glencraig.

Hiram Walker was purchased by Allied Lyons in 1987. In 2004 a major refurbishment of the distillery was completed. This significantly grew the capacity to cope with modern demands. The only things that remained from production were the mill and four stills. Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky arm of Pernod Ricard, became the new owners in 2005 and remain so.