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Kitchen Chat and more…
Dufftown, Scotland is an amazing place. It has the highest concentration of distilleries in Scotland that its name is synonymous with Scotch whisky. It was said that Dufftown earns more capital for the UK Government per head of population than any other towns in the UK. Dufftown distillery is one of the nine distilleries. There were 7 previously, promptly a popular rhyme that goes, “Rome was built on seven hills, Dufftown stands on seven stills”.
The Dufftown-Glenlivet Company founded Dufftown in 1895. It was formerly called the Dufftown-Glenlivet distillery. Old bottles under the Dufftown-Glenlivet are still in the market. In 1897, Mackenzie & Co acquired the distillery and kept it for the next 40 years. Arthur Bell and Sons purchased the distillery in 1937. It marked the beginning of Dufftown distillery’s association with blended whiskies. Most of Dufftown’s whiskies go into the Bell’s whisky blend, as it still is today.
In 1974, the distillery expanded its stills from 2 to 4, and again from 4 to 6 in 1979. This quick response to a rise in demand contributed to Dufftown’s reputation as one of the most best-functioning distilleries in Scotland in terms of production. In 1985, United Distillers acquired Dufftown distillery. They were in turn, acquired by Diageo. In 2006, the appearance of the Singleton of Dufftown signalled some changes in the distillery.
The Dufftown distillery is one of the most cramped distilleries in Speyside, Scotland, largely due to its haphazard expansion. The site was converted from a mill and space was limited. Nonetheless, the expansion allows the distillery to produce 5.8 million litres of pure alcohol every year. The distillery has a full lauter mash tun of thirteen tonnes, 6 stills, and 8 warehouses with almost 100,000 bourbon barrels and sherry cask of malt whisky. The malting house closed down in 1968. Dufftown distillery now sourced its malts from a Diageo-owned industrial malting site.
Dufftown distillery is closed to the public but it is possible to tour the facility if you ask the distillery nicely in advance!
Dufftown distillery produces whisky as a component for Arthur Bells and Sons’ blended whisky. In 2006, it joined the Singleton family. As a result, single malt from Dufftown begins to surface in the market. The Singleton of Dufftown 12 Years released in travel retail in the same year. The Singleton of Dufftown 15 and 18 Years Old followed after. In 2014, there were 2 special releases – Singleton Tailfire and Singleton Sunray.
We believe that Dufftown distillery will continue to be part of the blending for Arthur Bells and Sons in the near future. However, with the success of the Singleton of Dufftown, it is possible that this amazing distillery may divert more of its spirits for the single malt market in the future. We hope to see more from Dufftown distillery in future!
The Brackla distillery, or more commonly known as the Royal Brackla distillery is not always wearing the prefix “royal”. It was given to the distillery by the King of United Kingdom, King William IV in 1833. How did it come about and what happened between those years and now?
Captain William Fraser of Brackla House founded the Brackla distillery on the Cawdor Castle estate in 1812. He was a hugely unpopular man, but his whiskies were received as one of the best in its time. King William IV came to hear about it and tried it personally. He loved it so much that he decreed the whisky to be his chosen drink in the Royal Court in 1833. The King granted a Royal Warrant to Brackla Distillery. That warrant gave the distillery the permission to add a prefix “Royal” to its name. Therefore, Brackla distillery became Royal Brackla distillery since 1833.
Royal Brackla distillery is one of the three distilleries in Scotland to ever bear the prefix. The other 2 distilleries are Royal Lochnagar (active) and Glenury Royal (mothballed).
William Fraser passed the distillery to his son Robert Fraser in 1852. He disposed it to the firm Robert Fraser & Co in 1878. The firm promptly changed its name to the Brackla Distillery Co Ltd the following year. The distillery remained with the company until 1919.
John Mitchel and James Leith of Aberdeen bought the distillery in 1919 and sold it to John Bisset & Co Ltd of Leith in 1926. The Distillers Company Ltd took over John Bisset & Co in 1943 and the distillery went along with it. Shortly after that, the distillery closed down due to the restriction on the use of barley for distilling during World War II.
Royal Brackla distillery reopened in 1945. During this time, it became closely associated with blends. The distillery closed again in 1964 to 1966 due to renovations and rebuilding, where the owners changed from direct firing of the stills to internal heating. The distillery also expanded the number of stills from 2 to 4 in 1970 and built new warehouses in 1975.
Royal Brackla distillery closed again in 1985 but the whisky remained on site where they continued to mature and use for blending.
The Royal Brackla distillery reopened in 1991 with John Bisset & Co Ltd getting the license to the distillery in 1992. It remained with them till 1998. During the short period, 2 expressions were released – a semi-official 10-year-old by Fauna & Flora and a 20-year-old UD Rare Malt.
In 1998, the Royal Brackla distillery was sold to John Dewar & Sons – the subsidiary of the Barcardi. The distillery released an official bottling of Royal Brackla in 2004 and that was probably the end of it. Nonetheless, older bottles released during the 1970s and 1980s are available. One such example is our review of the Royal Brackla 12 Years Old.
The distillery continued to be a producer for the Dewar house blends such as Johnnie Walker and the various Dewar blends all through the 1990s.
Dewar announced a surprise for Royal Brackla’s fans in 2014 with a range of single malts that released in 2015. Among them were the Royal Brackla 12, 16 and 21 years old. The originally closed to public distillery are also open to the public with distillery tours. We believe that more plans for Royal Brackla may be underway. Let’s wait for it!
Fettercairn distillery is situated under the Grampian foothills in the Howe of Mearns. It shares the same name as the town that it is located. The distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Ramsay, the owner of the Fasque estate. He was forced to sell the distillery in 1829 to the Gladstone family after losing his fortune. In 1973, Whyte & Mackay acquired the distillery and it remains with the company till today.
Fettercairn 875 is a 1970s bottle produced for the Italian market. It was matured in a bourbon cask. The 875 on the label simply means it is 8 years old and of 75 proof. It is almost impossible to get this bottle anywhere now; maybe except in auctions where a price war should be expected.
Colour: Pale Straw
ABV: 43%
Nose: Sweet sherry with milk chocolate and vanilla cream. A slight vintage feel in the nose, likely due to the age of the whisky. (17/20)
Palate: Power-on vanilla cream with sweet sherry rush into the palate. The sweetness of the sherry makes it feel as if you are having a vanilla ice cream or a full cream vanilla cake. (19/20)
Body: Wonderfully balanced whisky. All rounded in both nose, taste and finish. (36/40)
Finish: Long finish with vanilla cream lingering long after your last swallow. (18/20)
Total Grade: 90/100
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