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Release Notes
This is the only bottle of Glenlochy currently available in the US market. It also happens to be the sister cask to the incredibly acclaimed 31 year old Glenlochy that was recently rated 92 points by Serge Valentine of Whiskyfun.com. I cannot express how outrageously complex this whisky is. The range of flavors is unfathomable. This thing is absolutely packed up. It's like unraveling a giant ball of yarn.
David Othenin-Girard
More than anything, Glenlochy just seems mysterious to me. There's simply not much information about the distillery other than important dates and events. I can't find a descriptor of the house style, or any tasting notes that paint a picture of consistancy. Had the whisky we sampled from the cask of 1980 been simply run of the mill or lackluster, I wouldn't have put much more thought into the distillery. However, the taste we had in Pittlochry was transcendent. It was mindblowing whisky, easily ranking among the best I'd ever had.I've only ever tasted one Glenlochy single malt whisky and it's one of the top five in my career. While I've tried to delve a bit deeper into what could have produced something so singular and incredible, there's simply not much information available, in my mind only adding to the mystique.
David Driscoll, K&L
A K&L exclusive Signatory Vintage bottling of a single barrel cask strength 31yo Glenlochy distilled on 21st of October, 1980 and bottled on 10th of September, 2012. Only 172 bottles were filled out of Hogshead 3022 and ours is number 40.
Your Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
Before writing this I went back into my tasting book to see what I had scribbled down at the time: Candied nuts, roasted almonds, rich toffee, cotton candy, oils with butter, butterscotch, unbelievably good. Incredible! WOW! To me, there's nothing more exciting than when the whisky from the ghost of history past completely blows you away and exceeds any possible expectations. Sampling single malt from places like Millburn or Ladyburn can be extremely exciting, until you get to the part where you actually taste it. When it's good, however, there's something magical that happens - rarity, quality, and legend combine to create a total and complete whisky experience. I've only ever tasted one Glenlochy single malt whisky and it's one of the top five in my career. While I've tried to delve a bit deeper into what could have produced something so singular and incredible, there's simply not much information available, in my mind only adding to the mystique.
David Driscoll, K&L
We start on the almond, nougat, exotic wood, all savory and powerful. Subtlety shifting into the herbal and fruit aromas, this nose is like a chameleon, at once beautifully exotic and powerfully brooding. On the palate, fabulously rich in texture, the whisky is like a ball of plasma oscillating through multiple states of being. It leaves you smiling and exhausted. Seriously, this is one of a kind.
David Othenin-Girard
The Bottler: Signatory Vintage
| Established: 1988 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Edradour Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire & Kinross, PH16 5JP, Scotland |
Signatory owns the smallest distillery from Scotland, Edradour since 22 july 2002
In April 1992, as the company began to grow, they moved to much larger premises. Here, they were granted a licence to bottle their own products on site. They set-up a small line bottling system, primarily geared towards the bottling of single casks. Although the actual bottling of whisky is semi-automated, the emphasis is very much a hands-on operation, with hand labeling and packing of products. To add to the exclusivity of their bottlings, they often declare the cask number, date of distillation,and date of bottling on our labels. In addition,each bottle is individually hand numbered.
It is their aim, as an independent bottler to offer a range of whiskies, some of which are not bottled by the proprietor of a particular distillery, and some at different ages/strengths to those offered as distillery bottlings. The majority of their bottlings are the product of single casks, with the malt whisky enthusiast being given the opportunity to sample the subtle differences which occur with each different cask.
The name of Signatory derived from the fact that their initial intention was to find someone famous to sign the labels for bottles produced from one single cask. The first cask we purchased was a cask of 1968 Glenlivet, which was sold long before we could find a famous person.
Until April 1992, when they moved to their current premises in Newhaven (Edinburgh), they operated from a bonded warehouse in Leith. Leith was once a well known port for importing wine from France. As this industry declined, many of the whisky companies began to occupy the old warehouses for cask storage purposes. In recent years, this has also declined, with the larger companies moving to the west of Edinburgh, where transport links are better.
The company was founded in 1988. It is a family owned and managed company, being one of only three true independent bottlers. They always like to draw a distinction between the independent companies who bottle their own products, and the independent companies whose products are bottled under contract. The other fully independent bottlers are: Gordon & MacPhail and Wm. Cadenhead.
from Whisky-Distilleries.info
The Distillery: Glenlochy
| Established: 1898 |
| Silent since: 1983 |
| Address: Inverlochy |
The Glenlochy distillery in the Highlands was founded in 1898 by David McAndie of the Glenlochy-Fort William Distillery Co. The distillery gets it name from the Lochy river that flows through the town of Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis mountain. Apart from Ben Nevis and Glenlochy, there used to be another distillery in the area; named 'Nevis'. These days Ben Nevis is the only remaining active distillery in this part of Scotland.
Glenlochy was one of the many distilleries that were founded during the 'whisky boom' at the end of the 19th century - and unlike many other malt whisky distilleries that were founded in the same period it managed to remain operational afterwards.
Glenlochy was silent from 1919 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1937, during which period the distillery changed hands a few times. The ownership was transferred to DCL / SMD in 1953, but they didn't manage to turn it into a winner. Glenlochy was closed in 1983; the typical distillery buildings are now used as offices.
Those were the highlights of the (relatively brief) history of Glenlochy. There's not much else to tell, but here are a few more nuggets of information about the Glenlochy distillery which you might find of interest.
For a few years, the remote town of Fort William was home to no less than three malt whisky distilleries; Nevis, Ben Nevis and Glenlochy. Nowadays both the Nevis and Glenlochy distilleries are closed and decommissioned; Ben Nevis (owned by Nikka from Japan) is the last surviving distillery in Fort William.
The Glenlochy distillery has been silent during World War I, in the period from 1919 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1937. That means that the distillery has been active for just a little over sixty years. This short history doesn't make it the most short-lived malt whisky distillery of Scotland by a long shot - but Glenlochy's 'track record' isn't very impressive either.
In 1937 Glenlochy was purchased by Train & MacIntyre Ltd. (One of its shareholders was Joseph Hobbs who also owned Ben Nevis Distillery.)
In 1953, the Distillers Company Limited (DCL, a predecessor of Diageo) purchased the assets of Train & MacIntyre Limited from its American owners, National Distillers Products Corporation and Glenlochy distillery was transferred to the Scottish Malt Distillers entity (SMD, a subsidiary of DCL). Also included in the sale were a number of other Scotch whisky distilleries; Glenesk, Benromach and Glenury Royal. In 1968, the Glenlochy distillery was closed once more - along with Oban and Glen Garioch. In April 1986 an application to demolish the distillery buildings was made to the Lochaber District Council - but the application was rejected at the time.
In 1992 the pagoda and maltings were sold to West Coast Inns. The surviving distillery buildings were converted into flats for sale and rent. Like the buildings of Saint Magdalene they now offer the ultimate shelter for whisky lovers.
Glenlochy was one of the many distilleries that were founded during the 'whisky boom' at the end of the 19th century - and unlike many other malt whisky distilleries that were founded in the same period it managed to remain operational afterwards.
Glenlochy was silent from 1919 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1937, during which period the distillery changed hands a few times. The ownership was transferred to DCL / SMD in 1953, but they didn't manage to turn it into a winner. Glenlochy was closed in 1983; the typical distillery buildings are now used as offices.
Those were the highlights of the (relatively brief) history of Glenlochy. There's not much else to tell, but here are a few more nuggets of information about the Glenlochy distillery which you might find of interest.
For a few years, the remote town of Fort William was home to no less than three malt whisky distilleries; Nevis, Ben Nevis and Glenlochy. Nowadays both the Nevis and Glenlochy distilleries are closed and decommissioned; Ben Nevis (owned by Nikka from Japan) is the last surviving distillery in Fort William.
The Glenlochy distillery has been silent during World War I, in the period from 1919 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1937. That means that the distillery has been active for just a little over sixty years. This short history doesn't make it the most short-lived malt whisky distillery of Scotland by a long shot - but Glenlochy's 'track record' isn't very impressive either.
In 1937 Glenlochy was purchased by Train & MacIntyre Ltd. (One of its shareholders was Joseph Hobbs who also owned Ben Nevis Distillery.)
In 1953, the Distillers Company Limited (DCL, a predecessor of Diageo) purchased the assets of Train & MacIntyre Limited from its American owners, National Distillers Products Corporation and Glenlochy distillery was transferred to the Scottish Malt Distillers entity (SMD, a subsidiary of DCL). Also included in the sale were a number of other Scotch whisky distilleries; Glenesk, Benromach and Glenury Royal. In 1968, the Glenlochy distillery was closed once more - along with Oban and Glen Garioch. In April 1986 an application to demolish the distillery buildings was made to the Lochaber District Council - but the application was rejected at the time.
In 1992 the pagoda and maltings were sold to West Coast Inns. The surviving distillery buildings were converted into flats for sale and rent. Like the buildings of Saint Magdalene they now offer the ultimate shelter for whisky lovers.
Trivia:
- The Glenlochy distillery became operational on April 4th, 1901 (although it was established in 1898).
- The current owner of the remaining Glenlochy buildings is the Lochaber Housing Association. The only distillery buildings that have survived are the kiln and the maltings; the rest was demolished.
- The nearby Loch Morar (North-West of Fort William) is the deepest loch in Scotland. It reaches down 1,077 feet (328 meters) and is ranked the seventeenth deepest lake in the world.
- Glenlochy is one of the rarest single malt whiskies on the market. There are only a few dozen expressions on the Malt Maniacs Monitor.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Diageo
| Established: 1997 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 8 Henrietta Place, London, W1G ONB, UK |
| → website |
Diageo also distributes Unicum, its lighter-bodied variant Zwack and Jose Cuervo tequila products in North America. However, Cuervo operates as a separate company in Mexico and is not owned by Diageo. Similarly Grand Marnier is distributed by Diageo in many markets, including exclusively in Canada, and a deal was reached in 2009 to significantly expand this partnership in Europe.
Furthermore, Diageo owns the Gleneagles Hotel.
Diageo was formed in 1997 from the merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc. The creation was driven by the two executives Anthony Greener and Philip Yea at Guinness plus George Bull and John McGrath of Grand Metropolitan. The product portfolios of Guinness and Grand Met were largely complementary with little overlap.
Diageo is the world"s biggest whisky producer with 28 malt distilleries and two grain distilleries.The company operates the Scotch whisky distilleries of Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Blair Athol (situated at Pitlochry), Caol Ila, Cardhu, Knockando, Glen Elgin, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Glen Ord, Lagavulin, Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Strathmill, Talisker, Teaninich, Mannochmore, Mortlach and Glenlossie, which are sold not only under their own name but used to make the various blended scotch whiskies sold by the company, and owns the stock of many closed distilleries such as Port Ellen, Rosebank, Brora, Convalmore, Glen Albyn, North Brechin, Banff, and Linlithgow. The company have opened a new malt distillery adjacent to their maltings at Roseisle (1st new make spirit produced Spring 2009). This will be one of the largest malt distilleries in Scotland. The new building contains 14 traditional copper pot stills. An expansion programme is also underway at its Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife that will make it the largest grain distillery in Scotland. Diageo also owns the Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow, and jointly operates the North British Grain Distillery in Gorgie, Edinburgh, with The Edrington Group.
Diageo plc (LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO) is the largest multinational beer, wine and spirits company in the world. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has American Depositary Receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The word Diageo was formed from the Latin dia (day) and the Greek geo (World), symbolising the use of the company"s brands every day, everywhere. Its head office is located in the City of Westminster in London. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Trivia:
- In December 2003, Diageo provoked controversy over its decision to change its Cardhu brand Scotch whisky from a single malt to a vatted malt (also known as a pure malt) whilst retaining the original name and bottle style. Diageo took this action because it did not have sufficient reserves to meet demand in the Spanish market, where Cardhu had been successful. After a meeting of producers, Diageo agreed to make changes.
- In 2006, the Cardhu brand quietly changed back to being a single malt.
- In July 2009, Diageo announced that, after nearly 200 years of association with the town of Kilmarnock, they would be closing the Johnnie Walker blending and bottling plant as part of restructuring to the business. This would make 700 workers unemployed and caused outrage from press, local people and politicians. A campaign against this decision was launched by the local SNP MSP Willie Coffey and Labour MP Des Browne. A petition was drawn up against the Diageo plans, which also involves the closure of the historic Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow.
- In February 2009 it was reported in the Guardian that the company had restructured itself so as to avoid paying tax in the U.K., despite much of its profits being generated in the U.K.
- Diageo is engaged in a tax scheme in the United States of America, commonly referred to as the "Rum Bailout", which will guarantee it USD$3 billion in revenues and profits.
- The National Puerto Rican Coalitionplans to run a series of ads in New York City and Puerto Rico urging a boycott of Diageo-owned alcoholic drinks to protest the giant British-owned corporation"s controversial production move of its Captain Morgan rum from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
from Wikipedia