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Glen Garioch
Founded
1797
Region
Highland
Status
Operational
Company
Production type
Single Malt
Production capacity
1,500,000 litres per year
Glen Garioch is a malt distillery in Scotland's Highland region, located at the heart of the town of Old Meldrum. It was established in 1979 by Thomas Simpson and it today one of several facilities within the Beam Suntory portfolio. It was first acquired by the Japanese company in 1995 through its acquisition of Morrison Bowmore Distillers, who had previously rescued the distillery from its 1968 closure by the Distillers Company, restarting production in 1973.
Historically Glen Garioch had been self-sufficient in malt, producing a uniquely smoky whisky from barley dried using peat from neighbouring Pitsligo. The profile of its production changed in 1995 with the closure of its maltings however, and contemporary Glen Garioch has been a non-peated spirit ever since.
The Glen Garioch single malt brand was introduced by Stanley P. Morrison in the 1970s after it had acquired the distillery from the Distillers Company. The earliest releases were packaged in squat, brown glass bottles with white wrap-around labels, and were available as a non-age statement and an 8-year-old expression.
In the 1980s the distillery switched to tall, clear glass bottles and replaced the non-age statement with a 10-year-old expression that remained part of the portfolio for many years. The 1990s also saw 12-, 15- and 21-year-old bottlings added to the core range, as well as two label redesigns over the course of the decade, both of which featured the stag motif synonymous with the brand for many years.
Following the switch to non-peated production in 1995, the first official release to contain the new spirit was a new 8-year-old release in 2006. This was promptly followed by a complete rebrand of the distillery in 2009 that saw a new core range introduced, which remains the proprietary offering today. These are a non-age statement release called Founder's Reserve and a 12-year-old.
Current owner
2009-present
1994-2009
1987-1994
1970-1987
1937-1970
1908-1933
1884-1908
Glen Garioch Distillery
Distillery Road
Oldmeldrum
Inverurie
AB51 0ES
Scotland
Active brands
Single Malt
