Region:
Established:
Water Source:
Owner:
Distillery Status:
Open To Visitors:
Phone Number: |
Highland
1875
Glassaugh Spring
Brown Forman
Operational
Yes
+44 (0)1261 842367
(Call for visiting hours) |
 |
Construction of the Glenglassaugh
distillery began in 1873 at the east end
of Sandend Bay about two miles west of
the village of Portsoy, Aberdeenshire.
It was founded by the Glenglassaugh
Distillery Company which was run by
local businessman, Col. James Moir, the
distillery first went into production in
1875.
James ran the distillery
along with his two nephews, on James
death the distillery was passed to his
nephews who embarked on renovating the
distillery to increase production in
1887.
However,
following the unexpected death of one of
the nephews in 1892, the distillery was
sold to Robertson & Baxter who had been
a long standing customer. Robertson &
Baxter immediately sold the distillery
to the Highland Distilleries Company
(which is now part of the Edrington
Group) for £15,000.
Due to the
downturn in demand for whisky the
distillery was closed in 1907, this
began a time of intermittent periods of
operation and lengthy closures but
during these periods of closure some of
the distillery buildings continued to be
used although the distillation equipment
remained silent. During the Second World
War several buildings were used by the
military and the old maltings was turned
into a bakery.
Most of the
distillery buildings that are in use
today were constructed during a major
reconstruction programme between 1957
and 1959 including the construction of a
new production building housing the
mashing, fermentation and distillation
equipment, the warehousing and malt
barns are the only surviving 19th
century distillery buildings still
standing today.
Glenglassaugh
reopened in 1960, the plan was to
produce a light, whisky with little
character that could be used for blends
in large quantities but after 10 years
in production it was realised that
Glenglassaugh whisky was a complex
whisky full of character which had to be
used more sparingly in blends.
They did attempt to change the character
of the whisky over the years but without
any success and due to the downturn in
demand for whisky and the growing whisky
lake already in storage as well as the
fact that it was an expensive process to
treat the hard water source from the
Glassaugh Spring the distillery was
deemed surplus to requirements and was
closed once again in 1986 but the
company continued to use the large
warehouse on the site.
In February 2008, the Scaent Group, a
Dutch based group of private investors
and whisky enthusiasts, acquired the
mothballed Glenglassaugh for £5 million,
the newly formed Glenglassaugh
Distillery Company Limited proceeded to
bring the distillery back to life and
put it back on the whisky map. By the
end of 2008 Glenglassaugh was back in
production.
Glenglassaugh Revival, the first
whisky from the re-born distillery, was
launched in 2012. Later that year,
Glenglassaugh Evolution, matured in
ex-Tennessee casks, followed this
popular release.
In 2013, the BenRiach Distillery Company
took over Glenglassaugh distillery, the
first release under new ownership was
the Glenglassaugh 30 Year Old followed
by the 40 Year Old.
In 2016 the
distillery was purchased by US company
Brown Forman and the first whiskies
under their ownership were released in
October 2017, the Glenglassaugh Wood
Finish range, a range of four whiskies
and no doubt the first of things to
come under Brown Forman.
|
Glenglassaugh Tasting Notes
|
 Glenglassaugh
Pedro Ximenez Sherry Wood Finish.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Wonderful, treacle toffee, vanilla, ripe pear,
rum and raisin fudge and creamy
chocolate.
Taste:
Lovely Demerara sugars and caramel
accompanies the rum and raisin fudge
delivery followed by gentle sweet
oak spice, a touch of orange and some creamy chocolate.
Finish:
A lovely long lingering finish, the sugars fade along
with the delicious rum and raisin fudge
leaving some mildly drying oak spice.
Comment:
A cracking PX cask finished whisky,
definitely one for the sherried whisky
lovers. A lovely smooth sherried dram with delicious rum and raisin
fudge, vanilla and oak spice. If you are
like me and like to enjoy a new sherried
dram over the Christmas holidays you
wont be disappointed if you found a
bottle of this in your stocking.
SMW Score
92/100
Similar
Tasting Whisky Suggestions
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Where To Buy Glenglassaugh Whisky Online
|
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Select a country for a list
Whisky shops near
you:
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Glenglassaugh Bottlings
|
Glenglassaugh offer you the following choice
of single malts:
- Glenglassaugh Port Wood Finish
- Glenglassaugh Peated Port Wood
Finish
- Glenglassaugh Pedro Ximenéz
Sherry Wood Finish
- Glenglassaugh Peated Virgin Oak
Wood Finish
- Glenglassaugh Revival
- Glenglassaugh 30 Year Old
- Glenglassaugh 51 Year Old
- Glenglassaugh Torfa
- You will find a huge range of
Glenglassaugh single malt including
many very rare vintages and finishes
both in original and independent
bottlings available from
top whisky shops such as
The Whisky Exchange &
Master of
Malt.
|
Glenglassaugh Reviews
|
Have you tried Glenglassaugh? Why not add
your own review and tasting notes to
this page.
ADD YOUR OWN REVIEW
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