The Perfect Collection Part One

Glen Garioch 8 Year Old 1970s / Lemar Import

Glen Garioch is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. For most of the 20th century it was self-sufficient, malting its own barley using peat from Pitsligo, giving it a unique smoky character. In fact, in 1968 it was short-listed by then-owners DCL, to convert to heavily peated production in order to make up for a shortfall on Islay caused by a drought. In an odd twist of fate, the decision was instead made to re-open Brora for the job, and close Glen Garioch down. Morrison Bowmore then spring to its rescue, restarting production in 1973. The maltings and distillery were closed down again by Beam Suntory in 1995, and only the latter resumed operations two years later, with contemporary Glen Garioch becoming an un-peated single malt. These pre-1995 vintages are worth investigating while you can. 

This was the original introductory Glen Garioch single malt, aged for 8 years and bottled in the late 1970s by the Stanley P. Morrison company. Perhaps fittingly, it was an 8 year old that provided the introduction to the new style of Glen Garioch single malt too, when it was launched in 2006.

Imported to Italy by Lemar.

Glen Albyn 15 Year Old Master of Malt

One of three closed distilleries in Inverness, Glen Albyn was rarely seen as a single malt with the majority of its output being used in blends. The distillery was one of many which closed its doors in 1983. Its owners in the very early 1970s, Mackinlay’s, were early fans of single malt bottlings and produced a handful of official releases. Little was to follow when DCL (now Diageo) took control in 1972, with the next distillery bottling not appearing until the Rare Malts Selection was released over 20 years later. Most of the opportunities to sample this lost distillery therefore come in the form of independent labels like this. 

This 10 year old was bottled by English retailer, Master of Malt.

Glenlivet 1981 Douglas Laing 18 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Well-known as the oldest licensed distillery in Scotland, for many years ‘Glenlivet’ was a byword for quality, with many single malts using the Glenlivet suffix in attempt to reap the benefits of associating themselves with the Banffshire distillery. Indeed, owners Pernod Ricard now put a heavy focus on the brand being ‘The Glenlivet’, encouraging their consumers not to accept any imitations. Glenlivet is in a long-running battle with Glenfiddich for the title of best-selling single malt, with both now selling over a million cases a year.  

This is an independent release from Douglas Laing, distilled in 1981 and bottled in July 2000.

The Old Malt Cask series is one of the most established independent labels on the market. It was launched by Douglas Laing in 1998 and bottled by them until 2013 when the brand became part of the Hunter Laing portfolio instead.

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old Excellence

Glenfiddich was an early advocate of the single malt Scotch category, and their faith is rewarded today by being one of the best-selling Scotch brands in the world. The distillery was built by William Grant in 1886, distilling its first spirit on Christmas day the following year. Today it is still part of the family-owned, William Grant & Sons. They became the first distillery to market their single malt brand in 1963, and were the first to open their facility to visitors. Glenfiddich was an important trailblazer in the whisky industry, who's contribution cannot be forgotten. The scale of their operation today is a testament to this. 

The 18 year old Excellence was launched in 1992 and was created to commemorate the 18 descendants of William Grant who helped make Glenfiddich the name it is today (that was the number at the time anyway).

This was replaced in the core range by the 18 year old Ancient Reserve in 1998.

Glen Flagler 8 Year Old Pure Malt 1990s

Glen Flagler distillery existed within the long lost Moffat distilling complex, which was constructed by Inver House Distillers between 1964 and 1965. Inver House was a subsidiary of US drinks giant, Publiker, and the Moffat complex was designed to provide both malt and grain for their blending operations. Glen Flagler was the primary malt, an unpeated spirit, although a separate set of stills were used to produce peated and heavily peated single malts, called Killyloch and Islebrae, respectively. These stills were set aside in their own distillery within the complex, which took its named from the lesser-peated, Killyloch (around 3ppm, according to Malt Maniacs). The stills at Killyloch were switched off in the 1970s, with Glen Flagler and the Garnheath grain distillery following suit in 1985 and 1986, leaving the whole complex in silence. 

This Inver House Distillers bottling is 8 years old and was bottled after the distillery's closure in the early to mid-1990s. 

Green Spot Irish Whiskey 

Green Spot is a brand of Irish whiskey produced for Mitchell & Sons of Dublin by Irish Distillers at their New Midleton distillery. It is one of the only whiskies in Ireland produced specifically for and retailed by an independent merchant. Historically the brand was produced for the company by Jameson at their Bow Street distillery, until they were merged with Powers and Cork Distillers to form the Irish Distillers group in 1966. 

This is an older bottling from New Midleton distillery. Formerly a 10 year old whiskey, the modern day product is a non-age statement release, comprised of 7-10 year old casks.

Glencraig 1975 Gordon and MacPhail

Glencraig is a rare single malt that was produced at Glenburgie distillery while owned by Hiram Walker, the Canadian drinks giant who bought into Scotch whisky in the early 1930s. They conducted a number of experiments with Lomond stills in the mid-20th century in order to produce a greater variety of malts for their blends, most notably Ballantline's. The spirit from Glenburgie's Lomond still was Glencraig. It was never intended to be bottled as a single malt, and there are no official releases, but a number of sought after independent bottlings like this have appeared over the years. Production of it ceased in 1981 when the stills were removed. 

This Gordon & MacPhail bottling was distilled in 1975 and bottled in 1999.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Glendronach 12 Year Old Teacher's 1980s / US Import

Glendronach was built in 1826 by James Allardice, and rebuilt following a fire in 1852 by an individual named Walter Scott (although not the one you might be thinking of). It eventually passed into the hands of perhaps Scotland's greatest distilling dynasty, the Grant's of Glenfiddich. Charles, the youngest son of William Grant procured the then-silent distillery from the government in 1920, and it remained in the family until they sold it to Wm. Teacher 40 years later. The Grant's and Teacher's were early champions of the single malt category, and distillery bottlings of Glendronach were produced for most of the 20th century until it was mothballed by Allied Distillers in 1996. The distillery was revived in 2002, and has since become one of the strongest single malt brands in the world. 

This is a stunning example of a Teacher's era distillery bottling of the 12 year old.

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old Excellence

Glenfiddich was an early advocate of the single malt Scotch category, and their faith is rewarded today by being one of the best-selling Scotch brands in the world. The distillery was built by William Grant in 1886, distilling its first spirit on Christmas day the following year. Today it is still part of the family-owned, William Grant & Sons. They became the first distillery to actively market their single malt brand in 1963, and were the first to open their facility to visitors. Glenfiddich was an important trailblazer in the whisky industry, who's contribution cannot be forgotten. The scale of their operation today is a testament to this. 

The 18 year old Excellence was launched in 1992 and was created to commemorate the 18 descendants of William Grant who helped make Glenfiddich the name it is today (that was the number at the time anyway).

This was replaced in the core range by the 18 year old Ancient Reserve in 1998.

Glen Garioch 21 Year Old

Glen Garioch is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. For most of the 20th century it was self-sufficient, malting its own barley using peat from Pitsligo, giving it a unique smoky character. In fact, in 1968 it was short-listed by then-owners DCL, to convert to heavily peated production in order to make up for a shortfall on Islay caused by a drought. In an odd twist of fate, the decision was instead made to re-open Brora for the job, and close Glen Garioch down. Morrison Bowmore then spring to its rescue, restarting production in 1973. The maltings and distillery were closed down again by Beam Suntory in 1995, and only the latter resumed operations two years later, with contemporary Glen Garioch becoming an un-peated single malt. These pre-1995 vintages are worth investigating while you can. 

A much loved expression, this 21 year old was discontinued in 2010 during the relaunch of the core range. These were always produced using the old style, pre-closure Glen Garioch single malt.

Glencadam 1974 Gordon and MacPhail

Despite being nearly 200 years old, Glencadam is still a lesser-known single malt. For the majority of the 20th century it was owned by blenders, first Gilmour Thompson, and then Hiram Walker who bought it in 1954. Over the next half century a series of amalgamations brought the distillery into the hands of Allied Distillers. Despite being the home of the Stewarts Cream of the Barley blend, it was shut down in 2000. Allied Distillers experimented with a brief distillery bottling of Glencadam single malt in the 1980s, but it was not until Angus Dundee re-opened it in 2003 that it was pushed as a single malt brand. Prior this, independent releases like this were the only real chance to try this well-regarded spirit.

This one was distilled in 1974 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in 1991.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Glencraig 1975 Gordon and MacPhail

Glencraig is a rare single malt that was produced at Glenburgie distillery while owned by Hiram Walker, the Canadian drinks giant who bought into Scotch whisky in the early 1930s. They conducted a number of experiments with Lomond stills in the mid-20th century in order to produce a greater variety of malts for their blends, most notably Ballantline's. The spirit from Glenburgie's Lomond still was Glencraig. It was never intended to be bottled as a single malt, and there are no official releases, but a number of sought after independent bottlings like this have appeared over the years. Production of it ceased in 1981 when the stills were removed.

This 1975 vintage was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in 2000.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Glen Garioch 21 Year Old

Glen Garioch is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. For most of the 20th century it was self-sufficient, malting its own barley using peat from Pitsligo, giving it a unique smoky character. In fact, in 1968 it was short-listed by then-owners DCL, to convert to heavily peated production in order to make up for a shortfall on Islay caused by a drought. In an odd twist of fate, the decision was instead made to re-open Brora for the job, and close Glen Garioch down. Morrison Bowmore then spring to its rescue, restarting production in 1973. The maltings and distillery were closed down again by Beam Suntory in 1995, and only the latter resumed operations two years later, with contemporary Glen Garioch becoming an un-peated single malt. These pre-1995 vintages are worth investigating while you can. 

A much loved expression, this 21 year old was discontinued in 2010 during the relaunch of the core range. These were always produced using the old style, pre-closure Glen Garioch single malt.

Glen Spey 1981 Cadenhead's 14 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.

An independent bottling of Glen Spey distilled in June 1981 and bottled in September 1995 for the US market.

Glen Spey is the historic home of the Gilbey's 'Spey Royal' blend, and currently provides the majority of its output to J&B, an arrangement in place since its acquisition by IDV in 1962. It was briefly available as a single malt in the 1980s, and Diageo launched an official distillery bottling in 2001 as part of the Flora & Fauna range. Outside of this however, it is a rarely seen single malt.  

Glenfarclas 15 Year Old 1980s

Glenfarclas is considered by many to be one of the finest distilleries in Speyside. Its direct-fired stills produce a heavy single malt that is almost exclusively matured in Jerez sherry casks. The distillery focuses on single malt over blends, and a cool microclimate around the distillery that means that their casks are particularly stingy to the \"angels,\" resulting in an incredible depth of stock. Glenfarclas also feel they share some credit for the modern day love of cask strength whisky, introducing their acclaimed 105 proof expressions back in 1968.  

This is a 1980s bottling of the core range 15 year old. The age-statement remains a popular part of the regular output to this day.

Glenturret 1980 Murray McDavid 16 Year Old

Glenturret claims to be one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, although it was dismantled for over 25 years before James Fairlie built a new facility within the walls of the former site in 1959, using old equipment procured from Perthshire neighbours, Tullibardine. Despite using traditional whisky-making methods, the distillery was also a pioneer, opening Scotland’s second ever visitor centre in 1981. It was then transformed into the home of The Famous Grouse by Edrington in 2002, before changing hands again in 2018 when it was bought by the owner of Lalique crystal, with premium collaborations between it and this previously lesser-seen single malt expected in the future. 

This is an independent bottling from Murray McDavid, distilled in 1980 and bottled from refill sherry wood.

Murray McDavid were founded in 1996 by Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin and ex-Springbank distillery Director, Gordon Wright. The company bought re-opened Bruichladdich distillery in December 2000, hiring Jim McEwan as Master Distiller. The company was purchased by Remy Cointreau in 2012, with the Murray McDavid brand eventually returning to Scottish hands the following year. Murray McDavid is famed for coining the term \"ACE-ing\" (additional cask enhancement) in relation to their cask finishing process, something they continue to use to great effect to this day.

Glen Avon 15 Year Old Gordon and MacPhail

A wonderful old bottling of a mystery Speyside single malt by Gordon & MacPhail. 

Italian importer Ernesto Mainardi purchased a number of bottlings of Glen Avon for his Sestante label in the 1980s, and has previously stated that Glen Avon was Glenfarclas single malt, but this has never been confirmed (or denied) by Gordon & MacPhail.

Glenfarclas 1958 Signatory Vintage 40 Year Old Miniature / 10th Anniversary

Signatory Vintage were established in 1988 by Andrew Symington and are one of Scotland's most prolific independent bottlers. Their offices and bottling facility are located next to Edradour distillery, which they have also owned since 2002.

This Glenfarclas was bottled in 1998 to commemorate the company's 10th anniversary. Strict brand protection rules at Glenfarclas distillery have prevented them from being named here however.

Glenfarclas is considered by many to be one of the finest distilleries in Speyside. Its direct-fired stills produce a heavy single malt that is almost exclusively matured in Jerez sherry casks. The distillery focuses on single malt over blends, and a cool microclimate around the distillery that means that their casks are particularly stingy to the \"angels,\" resulting in an incredible depth of stock. Glenfarclas also feel they share some credit for the modern day love of cask strength whisky, introducing their acclaimed 105 proof expressions back in 1968. 

Glen Scotia 12 Year Old Full Proof 1980s / F&G Import

Despite having been mothballed several times throughout its history, Glen Scotia is a proud survivor of the early 20th century desolation of Campbeltown, once known as \"the whisky capital of the world.” The Kintyre peninsula formerly boasted over 30 distilleries, but by the end of the 1920s, only this and Springbank remained. Shut for most of the 1990s before being re-opened by Loch Lomond Distillers, today it is one of only three in the region, and despite having a prominent portfolio of distillery bottlings in shops today, official releases like this from its previous operational periods are quite rare.

A very rare cask strength distillery bottling of Glen Scotia, aged 12 years and produced exclusively for F&G in Italy. The parent firm of the distillery at the time, Gibson International, also produced similar bottlings of Littlemill for the Italian importer.

Glen Ord 1985 Cadenhead's 10 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.

This is a 1985 vintage Glen Ord, bottled in September 1995.

Glen Ord is a well-respected distillery, sought after as a single malt and by blenders alike. The distillery operates its own in-house maltings, which supply all of Diageo's northern distilleries, as well as Talisker and occasionally heavily-peated malt for the Islay sites. Glen Ord was first officially bottled as a single malt in the 1980s, but has had a bounty of different names over the years; Glen Ord, Glenordie, Ordie, Ord, and Muir of Ord. It is currently part of the Singleton stable.  

Glenburgie 18 Year Old

First established as Kilnflat distillery in 1829, the plant became known as Glenburgie in 1871 when it was bought by Charles Hay. After closing down in 1925, it was eventually acquired by Hiram Walker, alongside Miltonduff distillery, as the firm sought to build a portfolio to supply its newly acquired Ballantine's blend. Today the distillery and Ballantine's are still closely linked, so much so that there have been very few distillery bottlings, the most recent being a 15 year old under the George Ballantine & Sons banner, released in 2017. Prior to this, the rare examples of Glenburgie on the market came mostly in the form of independent releases.

This is an incredibly rare distillery bottling from the 1990s when Glenburgie was owned by Allied Distillers, and stills bears the Jas. & Geo. Stodart name as distillery proprietors. Hiram Walker had licensed the distillery to the blending firm in 1930, but bought them over in 1936. As a subsidiary they remained the named proprietors of the distillery until Chivas Brothers acquired it in 2005.

Glen Spey 1981 Cadenhead's 15 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.

This is a 1981 vintage Glen Spey, bottled for the US market in June 1996.

Glen Spey is the historic home of the Gilbey's 'Spey Royal' blend, and currently provides the majority of its output to J&B, an arrangement in place since its acquisition by IDV in 1962. It was briefly available as a single malt in the 1980s, and Diageo launched an official distillery bottling in 2001 as part of the Flora & Fauna range. Outside of this however, it is a rarely seen single malt.  

Glen Grant 1980 Cadenhead's 13 Year Old 75cl / US Import

The Authentic Collection was launched by Wm. Cadenhead in 1991, and included whiskies from several rare closed Scottish and Irish distilleries, bottled for the company's 150th anniversary. It would later go on to become a mainstay of their portfolio, as the cask strength alternative to the Original Collection, which replaced their famous \"dumpy\" bottlings in the early 1990s. The Authentic Collection is now the flagship Cadenhead brand, and one of the most recognisable independent labels on the market.

This is a 1980 vintage Glen Grant, bottled in November 1993.

Glen Grant is one of Speyside's most recognised distilleries. It was built in 1839 by James and John Grant, and was a huge facility for its time. Its size increased exponentially over time, in the hands of John's son, John \"The Major\" Grant (who also built the short-lived Caperdonich next-door), and twice in the 1970s following the merger with The Glenlivet Distillers and its subsequent takeover by Seagram. Glen Grant was bottled as a single malt as early as the late-19th century, and developed a global export market. None perhaps as important as in Italy, where their agent in the 1960s, Armando Giovinetti, turned it into the nation's favourite whisky, after discovering the palate preferences of his countrymen for very young single malts. So loved is Glen Grant in Italy, that the distillery is now owned by Gruppo Campari, who bought it from Pernod Ricard in 2006.  

Glencraig 1975 Gordon and MacPhail

Glencraig is a rare single malt that was produced at Glenburgie distillery while owned by Hiram Walker, the Canadian drinks giant who bought into Scotch whisky in the early 1930s. They conducted a number of experiments with Lomond stills in the mid-20th century in order to produce a greater variety of malts for their blends, most notably Ballantline's. The spirit from Glenburgie's Lomond still was Glencraig. It was never intended to be bottled as a single malt, and there are no official releases, but a number of sought after independent bottlings like this have appeared over the years. Production of it ceased in 1981 when the stills were removed. 

Distilled in 1975, this is an unusual bottle of whisky from Gordon and MacPhail bottled in 1991.

The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old Grand Slam Dram 1990

Despite being owned by blenders, MacDonald & Muir, for most of the 20th century, Glenmorangie had an early focus on bottling its single malt. Some records show that its single malt was being sold as early as the late 19th century. This became the distillery's main output in 1959, and with the unique flavours derived from Scotland's tallest stills, coupled with their pioneering use of wood finishing, Glenmorangie is now one of the world's biggest selling malts. As a result, the distillery portfolio over the years has been extensive, and little has been spared for independent bottlers. 

This special edition of the 10 year old Glenmorangie was released to celebrate the legendary Grand Slam success of 1990 by Scotland's national rugby team (the last time Scotland won the 5 Nations Grand Slam).

Dated the 17th March 1990 as Scotland claimed victory over England to claim the title, the front picture is an image of the victors.

Glenrothes 1987 D&M 15 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Earmarked from an early stage an ideal component in blended Scotch whiskies, Glenrothes has long been a key part of big brands such as Cutty Sark and Famous Grouse. Its relationship with the former, lead to a two decade-long association with London wine-merchants, Berry Brothers & Rudd, when they traded their famous blend for the rights to the Glenrothes single malt brand in 2010. The distillery itself remained with Edrington through, and the two were reunited when the now hugely successful brand was returned in 2017. Releases from independent labels like this have also always been highly regarded.

This is an independent single cask, bottled for the Connoisseurs' Club at D&M Wine & Spirits in California.

Glenkinchie 1978 Glenhaven 17 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Glenkinchie distillery was built in 1837 by the Rate brothers, who had previously operated another site called Milton, situated nearby. Glenkinchie was expanded to its current size in 1890, under the watch of Major James Grey. In 1914 they formed the Scottish Malt Distillers group, alongside Rosebank, St. Magdalene, Grange and Clydesdale, which in turn was folded into DCL (now Diageo) in 1925. It was an important constituent in many of their blends, particularly Johnnie Walker (of which it now the Lowland 'home' of the brand), and as such, did not have an official single malt brand until 1988, when United Distillers favoured it over Rosebank as the Lowland representative in the Classic Malts stable in 1988. Independent labels like this has been bottling it for many years, however. 

Glenhaven was a short-lived independent bottler, mostly exporting their releases to America. Their bottlings appeared between 1994 and 1997, when their founder Bill Thompson sadly passed away, halting operations at the firm.

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old Dornoch Firth Bridge 1991

Despite being owned by blenders, MacDonald & Muir, for most of the 20th century, Glenmorangie had an early focus on bottling its single malt. Some records show that its single malt was being sold as early as the late 19th century. This became the distillery's main output in 1959, and with the unique flavours derived from Scotland's tallest stills, coupled with their pioneering use of wood finishing, Glenmorangie is now one of the world's biggest selling malts. As a result, the distillery portfolio over the years has been extensive, and little has been spared for independent bottlers. 

This is a special limited release of the standard Glenmorangie 10 year old, bottled to commemorate the opening of the Dornoch Firth Bridge on the 27th August 1991.

Glenugie 1966 Signatory Vintage 33 Year Old Miniature / Silent Stills - US Import

Glenury Royal is so-called due to its earliest proprietor, Captain James Barclay, being a close friend of King William IV. The distillery is one of many picked up by DCL (now Diageo) during an era of optimism in the mid-20th century, before being closed down in the early 1980s after a market downturn created an oversupply. Indeed, Glenury closed in 1985 and subsequently demolished. As such, official bottlings are rare, especially those under the Downie and Garron brand names. Bottlings from independent labels like this are increasingly so as well.

Distilled on 31st December 1966, this was bottled within Signatory Vintage's Silent Stills range, which at the time showcased Scotland's finest discontinued single malts (some, such as Glenglassaugh, have since returned).

Cask #5081 produced 148 full size and miniature bottles.

Signatory Vintage were established in 1988 by Andrew Symington and are one of Scotland's most prolific independent bottlers. Their offices and bottling facility are located next to Edradour distillery, which they have also owned since 2002.

Glenfiddich Robert the Bruce Decanter 75cl

Glenfiddich was an early advocate of the single malt Scotch category, and their faith is rewarded today by being one of the best-selling Scotch brands in the world. The distillery was built by William Grant in 1886, distilling its first spirit on Christmas day the following year. Today it is still part of the family-owned, William Grant & Sons. They became the first distillery to actively market their single malt brand in 1963, and were the first to open their facility to visitors. Glenfiddich was an important trailblazer in the whisky industry, who's contribution cannot be forgotten. The scale of their operation today is a testament to this. 

This is a historically themed stoneware decanter depicting Scottish king, Robert the Bruce. 

Glendullan 1978 Douglas Laing 21 Year Old

Glendullan became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1925, and continues to be an important producer for their blends to this day. Production there was increased in 1972 following the opening of \"Glendullan 2\" next-door. Both sites ran simultaneously until 1985 when the original plant was closed, and Glendullan 2 became simply Glendullan. The key outcome of this was that more spirit could be reserved for bottling as a single malt, with a 12 year old distillery bottling appearing in the 1970s. Casks were also freed up for independent bottlers, resulting in a number of high quality releases like this. 

This 1978 vintage is a Douglas Laing bottling from August 1999.

The Old Malt Cask series is one of the most established independent labels on the market. It was launched by Douglas Laing in 1998 and bottled by them until 2013 when the brand became part of the Hunter Laing portfolio instead.

Glendullan 16 Year Old Centenary Bottling

Glendullan became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1925, and continues to be an important producer for their blends to this day. Production there was increased in 1972 following the opening of \"Glendullan 2\" next-door. Both sites ran simultaneously until 1985 when the original plant was closed, and Glendullan 2 became simply Glendullan. The key outcome of this was that more spirit could be reserved for bottling as a single malt, with a 12 year old distillery bottling appearing in the 1970s. Several Rare Malts Selections and a Flora & Fauna release increased its presence in the 1990s, before the distillery became the US exclusive side of The Singleton banner in 2007. 

A special limited release of cask strength Glendullan. Bottled in 1998, this single cask, 16 year old was produced to celebrate the distillery's 100th year since opening in 1898.