SCOTCH REVIEW TM TM EDITION 16 AUTUMN 2001 A SMALL INVESTMENT Too many producers continue to spec- tacularly misunderstand the require- ments of high value whisky sales. The thinkers for the ‘profitable-single- malt’ sector have failed to appreciate the distinction between the couple of thou- sand Whisky-Enthusiasts and the million(s) of Whisky-Curious. I’ll say it again; there are only a couple of thousand collectors in the world who frequently spend over £100 per bottle. These Enthusiasts are taking an in- creasingly constant flogging with expen- sive expressions that are in volumes and at prices that cannot possibly be sus- tained. Valuable and rare malts have tremendous desirability; heritage, his- tory, rarity and exclusivity—which by definition means expensive. After all, if you want to make something ANTIQUE WHISKY MIRROR SELLS TO RIGHTFUL OWNER desirable, then make it expensive. The and nearly returns to its spiritual home—see back page. market will decide if it wants to buy. This rant is about the failure to give JIM BEAM SELLS TO INVER HOUSE SELLS TO some thought to expanding the market for collectable —to bring in lots MANAGEMENT BARGAIN SIRIVADHANABHAKDI of new customers. Pacific Spirits, part of the Great Oriole The Whisky-Curious enjoys his OPPORTUNITY Group, controlled by Thai entrepreneur dramming, has a few unopened bottles American giant, Fortune Brands, has sold Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has that won’t get opened and can easily re- its Jim Beam subsidiary—JBB Greater bought respected Scottish independent sist the charm of a limited edition rare Europe, to a heavily financed manage- distillers Inver House for £56million. bottling with maximum exclusivity, if ment team in Scotland’s biggest ever Pacific’s CE, Oooi Boon Aun, told us, “We only because it’s too expensive. However management buyout. The deal involves have watched Inver House with great there are many who could not resist but a £208m debt for the new owners ‘Kyndal admiration for 14 years. This represents as yet do not know of the pleasure of the International’ comprising eight directors an important addition to our beverage subject matter of whisky and the oppor- and managers of what was Whyte & interests. While Inver House will retain tunities to assemble a rewarding and Mackay and Invergordon Distillers. its independence and autonomy, we look fascinating collection. They can be found “The Americans have written off about forward to benefiting from the skills and among the millions of collectors of £400m in this sale to rid themselves of experience of the talented workforce.” stamps, china, golfing or rock memora- an unhappy adventure into Scotch Two thirds of the cash goes to two found- bilia, vintage or model cars, antiques, Whisky. Kyndal have got themselves a ing directors who headed the £8.2m wine or miniature bottles... good buy.” Industry analyst Alan Gray management buyout in 1988 when the Miniatures? Hold on! That’s how most of ING Barings told SWR. industry was recovering from its great- of the Enthusiasts became so; they Kyndal now own Invergordon grain and est low. One tenth of the sale is to be started with miniatures! So why for over Dalmore, Jura and Fettercairn malt dis- shared by the 130 workers who benefit a year has there been only disappoint- tilleries, as well as Tullibardine and from an employee share scheme estab- ment for a miniature collector looking Tamnavulin (currently “mothballed”). lished in 1997; some will get £50,000. for new expressions? ‘Kyndal’ as a name has an implausible Inver House owns Balblair, Pulteney, My suspicion is the producers’ idleness. explanation based on an “expression of Speyburn, Balmenach and Knockdhu I do know that they are failing to expand our commitment to innovation”. distilleries, all working. and invest in the future of their poten- tially very high return stocks. Now read ‘Devil’s Advocate’—our new column by Turnbull Hutton—on page 4.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 1 wine merchants, Berry Brothers & ent ‘family’ company shows the passion THE BENEFACTOR Rudd. BBR paid R&B for the blend and they had for this company. Their main Clyde Bonding to bottle it. BBR then influence was their father rather than marketed it. The success of R&B and their grandfather; it was he who did a Highland has been closely linked to that lot of the development of the business. of Cutty Sark, particularly through the He died in 1946, after which they had an 1950s, 60s and 70s when it was one of interesting approach to running the com- the top selling brands in the USA. pany; they never did anything unless all Because of this long and excellent rela- three agreed. Miss Babs had the respon- tionship, in 1997 Edrington and BBR sibility for the business, Miss Elspeth formed a joint venture called ‘Cutty Sark was a County Councillor for the region International’, a straight 50:50 joint ven- around Berwick and Miss Agnes looked ture in terms of distribution, sales and after the farms. On Sunday evenings they marketing, while Edrington remains re- sat down to discuss the issues which were sponsible for the production. Cutty had likely to come up in the week ahead. developed principally in the US but now LFW: Tell us more about Ian Good. requires active marketing elsewhere. As I don’t often admit it but I am in fact a we share in the success of the brand it is Chartered Accountant! I qualified in right that we share the risks and invest- 1967 and spent two years with Price ment in further developing the brand Waterhouse working in Glasgow and Ian Good was awarded the CBE in which is why CSI was created. CSI is also London. I took a job with Lang Brothers 1992 for services to the Scotch responsible for the marketing of in 1969 (acquired by R&B in 1965) Whisky Industry and was recently Glengoyne which was R&B’s only malt thinking I would have a few years in elected Chairman of the SWA. distillery), Glenrothes, BBR’s malt brand industry before deciding what to do in LFW: What is your job? (produced by Highland) and Lang’s Su- life. After two years with Lang’s I started I am Chairman and Chief Executive of preme blend—I said it was complicated! working closely with the R&B Manag- the Edrington Group. I am also Chair- LFW: And Robertson & Baxter? ing Director, John Macphail, with whom man of the Association. As brokers, R&B prospered passing from I got on extremely well. He was a re- The Edrington Group is a private com- father W. A. to son James and then, in markable man with a tremendous repu- pany; it originates from Robertson & the mid 1940s, to the three granddaugh- tation in the industry. Baxter and the Clyde Bonding Company, ters of the founder. John and I were working on broader mat- both created by W. A. Robertson in the These ladies were unmarried, business ters rather than just those of Lang’s and mid-nineteenth century. was booming and they realised that I joined the board of R&B in 1974. By Recently, in the mid 1990s, we decided when they died there would be serious then I had spent some months as a dis- to simplify things and created the death duties and the company would al- tillery hand and at the bottling plant, Edrington Group as an overall business most certainly have to be sold. With great thoroughly enjoying all of my practical umbrella for R & B and Clyde Bonding. foresight they transferred their shares experience. In 1997 a share scheme was created for into a holding company choosing the I became Chief Executive in 1989 and employees in the group rather than the name Edrington after one of their farms. Chairman in 1994. A number of people individual companies. In 1999 we ac- They donated all their shares to the com- have influenced my career but none more quired Highland Distillers often consid- pany. Edrington was controlled by a so than John Macphail and the Misses ered a sister company. charitable trust they established called Robertson. They were gracious in every- Edrington now controls the former busi- the Robertson Trust, and the profits of thing they did and their passion for the nesses of Robertson & Baxter (brokers), Edrington went to the Trust. Edrington industry and the people in it was incred- Highland Distillers (distillers— had two principal subsidiaries, R&B and ible. They saw employees as members of Bunnahabhain, Glenrothes, Glenturret, Clyde Bonding. Over the years it has ac- the family. Take for example our Com- Highland Park, Macallan & Tamdhu, quired others, most notably Clyde Coop- pany ball, a very formal event. I recall plus The Famous Grouse and Black Bot- erage and Lang Brothers. Miss Babs explaining why this was such tle blends), Lang Brothers (Glengoyne LFW: Who benefits from the Trust? a formal do; everyone should dress up, Distillery and Lang’s blend) Clyde Bond- The Trust is very wide ranging in terms even the office junior. But we had to make ing (maturation and bottling) and Clyde of who benefits. Most organisations with sure that if anyone didn’t have a dinner Cooperage. We also have a half share in charitable status are eligible for consid- suit and had to hire one, the company the North British grain distillery and eration. In the year to April 2001 almost would pay and that everyone would go Cutty Sark International. £5m was distributed to charities—al- in a taxi, paid for by the company. That LFW: But Cutty Sark belongs to most entirely within Scotland. way everyone became aspirational, im- Berry Brothers. A proportion of the profits available to portant for a night. It was that thinking It may be easiest to explain by looking shareholders is payable as dividends. and wisdom that impressed me so much. at the history. It is complicated though! The recipients are either the Robertson LFW: You produce Famous Grouse. R&B was a whisky broking business Trust or the employees of Edrington. We do the blending, yes but only since whose founder, W. A. Robertson, was also The Trust is run as a separate entity 1970 when Highland acquired brand one of the founding directors of High- from the business. Edrington pays tax owners Matthew Gloag and Son. Then land Distillers in 1887. in the normal way, it is the charity that Grouse was a relatively small player, R&B were the brokers or agents for has tax benefits. just 40,000 cases in the UK. Since then Highland’s new-make spirit; if you LFW: Are you involved in the Trust? an extremely consistent approach to wanted some new make Bunnahabhain Yes, the sisters said in the trust deed quality and marketing has created the or Highland Park for example, you dealt that two of the Trustees should be from success of the brand. with R&B. A substantial proportion of the business; currently there are three Immediately after Highland acquired Highland’s new make was bought by other independent members. Gloag’s there was a joint venture set up R&B and laid down for future blending. I was fortunate to know the sisters. They between R&B and Highland for the R&B blended for a number of brands on were incredible ladies. To donate the en- stock holding, promotion and sharing of behalf of the brand owners, the largest tire value of their shares to ensure that profits. There was always a cross- of which was Cutty Sark for London the company stayed a private, independ- shareholding between us; Highland has

PAGE 2 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk owned 35% of R&B since 1948 when dependence then we would look at that blends throughout the industry and as some of the family’s cousins wanted out. and already there have been benefits a single is marketed by CSI under li- R&B also had a small number of High- such as joint materials purchasing. cence to BBR. Tamdhu is also important land shares prior to the acquisition of LFW: Just to complicate things, in our blends. It matures early with a Gloag but since gathered more as they Suntory has a share of Macallan! pleasing sweetness; great for blending became available because of our mutual Suntory of Japan has 25% of Macallan but not one of our priority malts. dependency. It was thought a good de- and 1887 now has 75%. There was an LFW: And Glenglassaugh? fence mechanism for all concerned, that agreement whereby Suntory could exit Closed in 1986, it is now a warehousing and the complex supply agreements be- at certain times and we expected that complex. I don’t see it distilling again. tween the two companies. But as a pub- on our acquisition of Highland they In 1993 we formed a joint venture with lic company Highland were vulnerable might have chosen to leave but they are International Distillers and Vintners to takeover and in 1979 Hiram Walker very keen to stay in, despite their re- and bought the North British Distillery (Ballantine’s) made a bid for Highland cently acquiring Morrison Bowmore. in . NB was an important con- which was only blocked by the Monopo- Highland Distillers is now a sales and stituent part in our blends and it is also lies and Mergers Commission. Had it marketing unit. Our business is brands useful for trading for other grains, which not been prevented we could have lost led. The distilleries and production are are also important in our blends. You our main supplier and customer. This under ‘operations’ which is Edrington must have a balance. NB is unique be- realisation that we were vulnerable be- run. Operations provides the service to cause it uses only maize whereas other cause of our dependency on Highland the brands as does finance and admin- grain producers use wheat. despite our agreements and cross- istration; each sector supports the Since then IDV has become part of UDV, shareholding was a defining moment as brands as a consolidated item. Our prin- but they seem happy with our arrange- far as R&B was concerned. cipal brands now are Famous Grouse, ment; NB is an important part of their Since then Highland acquired Macallan Cutty Sark, Glengoyne, Highland Park expanded portfolio. and they have developed their brands and Macallan—these brands are para- We are now self sufficient in terms of extremely well, but for five years their mount to everything in the Group. volume with some first class malts. The profits were flat because of the substan- LFW: Is there favouritism towards latest proof of that is Famous Grouse tial investment behind their brands. Be- Glengoyne? Vintage malt, a new product created by cause of Highland’s lack of profits I always think that Glengoyne at older our blender John Ramsey made up of growth the share price was falling. It ages is a very good dram; the 17yo is su- several of our malts. A tremendous dram was clear that they had got into a situa- perb. It was our only malt distillery be- and our fastest growing new product tion where they might again be vulner- fore 1999 and I suppose from that point ever! We have blends, we have single able to anyone with an eye for a bar- of view it does have a sentimental at- malts and now a bridge. We’ve given it gain. By this time we held 28% and tachment. But I wouldn’t say that there the assurance of the Grouse brand which made it clear that we would make it very was any favouritism! encourages people who have heard about difficult if someone tried to buy High- LFW: What about your other malts? malts but are unsure—Vintage Malt land, both in terms of shareholding and Bunnahabhain is a tremendous and takes them into the next category. our agreements. Considering the con- unusual and a wonderful Next we have Famous Grouse port and solidation in the industry and the need malt. Now that Highland is part of Islay finishes. I’m conscious that we to continue investment in the brands we Edrington we are working hard to com- have to be very careful not to confuse believed that the best way forward was municate with the new shareholders in our customers but I believe it shouldn’t to take Highland private. The board of the company—the employees. I visit because of the way it is presented. These Highland supported this and in Novem- every site twice a year to explain how create another interest in the blended ber 1999 we secured the company. the business is doing, what the chal- category, they give people something to LFW: An expensive shield. lenges are, how we’ve done, where we talk about—that is the effect that wood The total cost was £601m which was fi- are spending money, etcetera. In Janu- has on whisky. nanced by bank borrowing, our own cash ary I was at Bunnahabhain when the LFW: You are keen on co-operation. resources and by William Grant & Son employees said ‘if you want innovations It works! On the big scale, our Highland [Grant’s, & Balvenie] who how about letting us be responsible for brands are distributed by Maxxium, a came in as a 30% shareholder of the new the bottling, labelling, packaging and new joint venture between Remy, 1887 Company which now owns High- selling of one of our oldest casks?’ They Kyndal (JBB as was), and Vin Esprit land. Grant’s were interested in a long selected a 1965 and now all 594 bottles [Absolut ]. A pre-eminent portfo- term investment in some very good have been sold. We are delighted with lio of high class products. On a smaller brands—for a while we had been talk- the project—a real example of innova- scale, our Highland Park workers are ing to them about private companies tion! Bunnahabhain is an important part responsible for production at Scapa and how we could work together in our of Cutty Sark but is not a priority brand which is owned by Allied. As neither dis- changing industry. We agreed that this as far as a single malt is concerned. tillery was working flat out it was agreed was one way and I’m delighted to say it However the impetus for a brand comes Highland Park would run Scapa when is working very well. from the market, and that doesn’t hap- required; Allied have secured us as their 1887 is the year that Highland was pen with Bunnahabhain which is only contractors to do so—more synergy! formed and also the year that William one of a number of Islay malts. Highland I think that continuity of any relation- Grant started distilling at Glenfiddich, Park is our island malt with a unique ship is fundamental to success and this on Christmas Day. The 1887 Company selling point of being the most northerly is very much the philosophy of our busi- has a joint board between Edrington and whisky distillery in the world and the ness. The Scotch Whisky industry is Wm. Grant & Sons. We both think it im- only (supported) malt from Orkney. much better at doing this than many portant that Highland is run and con- Glenturret’s main income is from visi- other industries. trolled from Scotland; it is an interna- tors and as a small distillery is self-sup- LFW: Your desert island dram? tional market but we are very proud of porting. We are presently building ‘The If it’s a hot island, I’d love a Cutty on being Scottish-based companies in a House of Grouse’ there, a good location the rocks, otherwise a Grouse. For malts Scottish industry. Grant’s have made it with a working distillery next door a Glengoyne 17yo in particular, or a very clear that it was an investment but which will make this a very exciting visi- Highland Park 18yo, but on balance I also that if there were ways of working tor experience! prefer blends. together without compromising our in- Glenrothes is very important in many LFW: Thank you.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 3 presently). will no doubt be again? DEVIL’S ADVOCATE It is at this point where, to mix my film So is it more power to the elbow of the metaphors, ‘Whisky Galore’ meets smaller independents—Scottish owned, ‘Groundhog Day’. Have we not seen all some family owned—or a salute to The of this before? Is this not vaguely famil- Edrington Group who completely re- iar to whisky watchers the world over? versed the trend and took the publicly After flotation will not this “Scottish quoted Highland Distillers private, thus Company” have to simply perform for freeing themselves from any of the short their new bosses—their shareholders— term pressures referred to earlier. They who, surprise-surprise, will be unlikely concluded—and are now demonstrat- to be (a) Scottish or (b) hellish interested ing—that understanding and investing in understanding the finer nuances of a in “Scottishness” is a long term strat- sector that they have described many egy; promoting it to merely sell it on TURNBULL HUTTON times as being “dull”. Why invest in it again seems a route we have trodden then? Well, One does need a balanced previously. SCOTTISH OWNERSHIP? portfolio if One is looking after say, a However, after having said all that—we pension fund; risks have to be spread, are where we are. Truth is that the in- ....OR JUST MORTGAGED? and the boring, dull booze business just dependent Scottish-based companies about keeps going. However in return would be the first to concede that the LFW is delighted to welcome for the initial investment in the flota- multi-national big boys do one hell of a Turnbull Hutton as a contributor, tion the fund managers will expect daz- job using their collective muscle in cre- until recently head of all distilling zling short term returns—after all they ating the new market opportunities— for industry leader GuinessUDV. have benchmarks to beat if they are to whether ready to drink, new categories Informed, outspoken and independ- be given the privilege of gambling with or simply raising the profiles of existing ent, his comments are based on a other people’s money! This, they them- products. The Global Companies do in- lifetime in the industry. selves feel, gives them the right to com- vest heavily and, whilst they benefit ment on a company’s performance us- themselves, there is no doubt a spin off The news of the £208m management ing a variety of “Key Performance Indi- for the whole sector—Scottish owned or buyout of the former Whyte & Mackay/ cators”. In no time at all these same in- not! Invergordon business from Jim Beam dividuals are putting pressure on Man- I should lie down now (another zizz per- Brands contained the now obligatory ref- agement to take possibly damaging and haps) before I start wittering about na- erence to the business having returned certainly short-term measures to max- tionalising the whole industry. Come to to “Scottish Ownership.” Great news imise the returns. If this does not hap- think of it, maybe this is not so daft. On one would think—shouldn’t as much, if pen the share price will fall on the back the other hand it would no doubt lead to not all, of Scotland’s most important in- of a view that it is a “dull” sector. Rec- opportunities for synergies, better asset dustry be owned by we Scots? ommendations follow regarding utilisation, consolidations—and allow However, this triggered a few thoughts mergers—or demergers—or MBOs…. the SWA the opportunity to make their as I carried on reading through the re- you’re beginning to catch on to this now. usual helpful press statement along the ported structure of Kyndal Interna- It is ‘Groundhog Day’. lines of “1000s of jobs at risk……….!” tional—the name of the new business: The words are always the same; “tre- (The counter to this is whenever a re- German backers—WestLB: a layer of mendous synergies”...“consolidation”... stricted whisky market ‘opens up’ the mezzanine finance; as well as the man- “asset utilisation”... Were these not the same organisation comes away with agement team’s own “investment in very words or arguments put forward “1000s of jobs could be created………..!” their future.” All pretty straight for- when Whyte & Mackay took over Ever wondered if it’s the same people ward—a classic MBO. Invergordon Distillers?—another “Scot- who just get a job and then lose it again? By the end of the report, probably half tish Company” as I recall (although it That’s another story altogether!) an hour later (no, I’m not a slow reader, probably wasn’t after their flotation fol- For now the Industry must learn from I merely had a zizz half way through) lowing their MBO from Vickers—or was what has gone before; Scottishness is too speculation had already started as to it British Aerospace?!) important to pay mere lip service to. The when the new company would go to the We’ve been here before folks! ‘new’ Whyte and Mackay team must suc- market, after all that is the next step in DCL—Scottish-based but 6% Scottish ceed. Apart from their personal finan- the MBO process. No management team owned when the takeover was cial opportunities in the long term, they is going to deny themselves the rich pick- engineered, to keep out a company at will undoubtedly have some interest ings that have accrued to others in simi- least led by two Scotsmen but not Scot- payments to meet in the short term! Can lar situations and with the best will in tish owned. This became UD; then more the new team be more successful as own- the world I cannot imagine German synergies… merges ers than they were as employees? And if bankers having an overriding long-term with Guinness... UD becomes UDV... so, why didn’t they do it for their previ- interest in Scotch Whisky. Call me an Guinness/GrandMet becomes … ous employers? old cynic if you must, but aren’t they also exit Dewar’s to Bacardi (certainly not I once had a boss who was opposed to pretty interested in getting a return on Scottish)... carved up... hope- MBOs for that very reason; he believed their investment pretty damn quick? fully, at some point... to Diageo and that if individuals could do it better for Following this train of thought through Pernod (hardly Scottish —unless we re- themselves he should fire them for not logically, it is at the time of any flota- constitute The Auld Alliance!) I could doing it for the Company. On reflection tion that the much vaunted “Scottish go on but you’ve got my drift..... he was probably a naïve old buffer like Ownership” quickly goes out the win- We now have an industry where myself! dow. In come the fund managers—pri- “Scottishness” could be construed as a [And lo! Immediately after our receiving marily London-based barrow-boys— rare commodity. Don’t get me wrong— this piece, Inver House, a company who will be courted to invest their cli- we still make the stuff , nurture it, blend formed as a result of a management buy- ents’ money in what will, by that time, and bottle it, but the corporate power out, announced that they were selling be a new dynamic organisation in an ex- bases tend to be in London/Bristol/ Am- themselves to an Asian buyer for £56m. citing sector (where the leading indus- sterdam/Tokyo/Paris... Was this because We tried asking Turnbull for further com- try player seems to be doing kind of OK our “Scottishness” was up for sale? As it ment but he had gone for his zizz.]

PAGE 4 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk BOOK FAIR BROUGHT BOOK FARE Marcin Miller Two German whisky enthusiasts have My job, as Editor & Publisher of Whisky TO BOOK reprinted The Whisky Distilleries of the Magazine, does not make me an ‘expert’ Neil Wilson United Kingdom, a record of Alfred on whisky. I ask others to supply exper- Three years ago Duncan and Wendy Barnard’s two year journey first printed tise, or—more accurately—experience, Graham came to me, as a publisher of in 1887. The book is a fascinating snap- authority, knowledge and the ability to specialist whisky books, with an idea; shot of the emerging whisky industry write. I mention that as, although I am ‘We want to visit every distillery that during its greatest period of expansion. an enthusiast of whisky, I certainly can- claims to have visitor reception facilities This reprint is a faithful facsimile even not hold a candle in terms of dedicated and do a Good Distillery Guide from a including the fascinating advertise- application to the majority of our read- punter’s perspective. If they don’t come ments for contemporary whiskies and ers. up to scratch we’ll say so and when they distilling equipment such as ‘Lockwood’s I don’t know the answer. But I can get it do, we’ll shout their praises.’ As a mil- Patent Oscillating Furnace Bars’. One from the person who does and, I hope, lion visitors a year traipse around the of the most essential books for a SWR package it up attractively for you. Scottish countryside visiting distilleries reader. £25. On my desk today, there are five new the market was strong and there would Malcolm Greenwood whisky books. It is the season for gifts, be retail opportunities at the distiller- has assumed Bar- but more and more whisky books are ies featured. nard’s coat and stick being published. Book publishers are In Visiting Distilleries Duncan and and retraced the jour- working in ever-decreasing circles. It Wendy made judgements on a number of ney by visiting 22 would not be unfair to say that only one factors. These included the practicalities ‘modern’ distilleries of these titles is worth looking at. of access, the cleanliness of the loos, the singled out for their In order to find one ground-breaking quality of the catering, the quality, depth uniqueness. Unique whisky book you have to wade through and duration of the tour, the way the staff Distilleries features dozens of half-baked, poorly designed, took care of them and so on. Most impor- Barnard’s prose for each and then cut-and-paste jobs. These are a danger tantly, the overall ambience was critical Malcolm’s present day impressions and because mistakes and half-truths are re- to them in their final analysis. photographs. Like Barnard the descrip- peated so often they become accepted as On publication I naively assumed that tion is of both the distilleries and the fact and it is too easy to miss the gems there would be healthy sales to be had travel in between. The book also features that really deserve your attention. in the top ranked distilleries. However advertisements and one wonders if they The joy I feel at opening something origi- the reactions and ratings were curiously will be as fascinating in 100 years’ time. nal is enormous and this is only en- variable. While all the Seagram centres ‘A modern day Barnard’ is hanced by my enthusiasm for the sub- came out top with excellent ratings, they how we describe Visiting ject matter. Similarly, I am depressed by would not take the book for retail. Why? Distilleries. Surprisingly missed opportunities. Because their visiting times had been none of the legions of We know what the established classic changed at the time of publication! whisky authors has whisky books are. What is required is Disappointing tours of another distillery thought to make a new innovation rather than imitation. I en- resulted in a less than glowing report. record of the industry to- joyed Visiting Distilleries for the simple Tours? Well, Duncan and Wendy went day, perhaps detailing the reason that no-one had done it before. I three times just to be certain their expe- capacity of process logic found the fact that it was so clearly a rience was typical. When the book was processors and articulated vehicle turn- personal account quite charming as well. considered by the parent group for sales ing areas(!) however the Grahams have Dave Broom’s Handbook of Whisky at- throughout its many distilleries, it was found a very entertaining compromise tempted a new approach by focusing on declined. No reason has been offered. by recording not only the yumminess of individuals rather than the process, the The others? Many had good reasons for the baguettes and cleanliness of the loos distillery or the whisky itself (although, not selling it—“We don’t sell books”—or but also the construction and capacity naturally, none of these was ignored). were simply miffed at what was said of the mash tun. A worthwhile read re- Michael Jackson’s Scotland and its about them. gardless of any intention to visit a dis- Whiskies allowed him free rein to write But those distillers seem to have missed tillery. £9.99. about impressions rather than tasting the point about this book. It is all about Dave Broom’s Hand- notes. Coupling his prose with the raising standards in the tourism indus- book is a recommended breathtaking landscape photography of try and getting more people to buy buy for the whisky en- Harry Cory Wright was a masterstroke. Scotch. Spare a thought for the two thusiast while the The departure here was to concentrate French tourists in tears after one dis- much travelled Michael on the beauty of the land rather than tillery tour, stating if that was what was Jackson’s Scotland and the shape of the stills. on offer, they would never enter another its Whiskies is for the So many whisky authors, so few inno- in their lives. It transpired that this was whisky and/or Scotland vative whisky books... their first-ever visit to a distillery and fan; both are £16.99. after a few minutes conversation Duncan and Wendy had sent them on their way deciding to continue with the other distillery visits they had planned. Duncan and Wendy weren’t paid for do- ing that, but the abusive visitor centre manageress who berated them was! Where the book has been stocked, it has sold well with rewarding feedback. One helpful member of the public has writ- ten because we stated there was no ca- tering at Tomatin—‘There’s a Little Chef across the road!’

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 5 This year we offer more deals than ever before but space and TOP SHELF: pure excitement prevents us from pointing out anything spe- Last year’s most popular deal is repeated: buy any two ‘Classic cific so you’ll just have to study our shelves! However, this Malts’, get a free bottle of Glen Ord year there are also more FREE FREEBIES! OB CRAGGANMORE — 3∆ 12 40% £ 23.50 Buy OB DALWHINNIE — 2 15 43% £ 23.50 any 2 OB GLENKINCHIE 10 43% £ 23.50 for a OB LAGAVULIN — 5∆ 16 43% £ 28.90 free 70cl OB OBAN — 4 14 43% £ 26.50 Glen OB TALISKER — 5∆ 10 46% £ 25.50 Ord SAVING..... OB ABERFELDY 12 40% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 OB AN CNOC (Knockdhu) 12 40% £ 17.90 £ 3.70 OB ARDBEG — 5∆ 10 46% £ 20.90 £ 3.00 OB ARDBEG — 4∆ 17 40% £ 25.80 £ 3.00 OB ARDBEG — Provenance ’74/23 56% £ 195.00 £ 50.00 CC ARDBEG ’90/11 40% £ 19.90 £ 3.60 OB AUCHENTOSHAN — 1 10 40% £ 17.90 £ 4.00 Free with each order: OB AUCHENTOSHAN — Three Wood 43% £ 25.90 £ 6.50 • A MINIATURE OF THE NEW BRUICHLADDICH 10yo! OB AUCHENTOSHAN — WB ’78/18 59% £ 31.60 £ 10.00 • A COPY OF CHARLES MACLEAN’S SCOTCH WHISKY! OB AUCHENTOSHAN — WB ’75/21 55% £ 51.20 £ 10.00 • A COPY OF THE NEW SCOTTISH FIELD MALTS GUIDE! OB BALBLAIR—WB, min & glass 33 45% £ 99.00 £ 21.00 PLUS! Order any four or more malts from our stocklist and add OB BALVENIE 10 40% £ 18.90 £ 4.00 two or more bottles of the superb, award winning Loch Fyne OB BALVENIE — Dbl Wood — 2 12 40% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 and we’ll deliver FREE to a UK address ! Steady now! OB BALVENIE — Single Barrel ’84/16 50% £ 32.90 £ 5.00 * SMALL PRINT * OB BALVENIE — Port Wood 21 40% £ 38.50 £ 4.40 These deals and freebies are while stocks last. Freebies are limited OB BENROMACH 15 40% £ 23.90 £ 4.00 to one per customer and will not be included in ‘gift’ orders, where a OB BOWMORE — Legend 40% £ 15.90 £ 4.00 single bottle is being sent to someone other than the person paying. OB BOWMORE 12 40% £ 18.50 £ 4.70 (Collectors: These are promotional miniatures, sales not possible yet.) OB BOWMORE — Mariner — 4 15 43% £ 22.30 £ 5.60 OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS OB BOWMORE — ∆ 17 43% £ 28.50 £ 7.10 Please check our website for delivery deadlines if important. Weight OB BOWMORE — Darkest — ∆ 43% £ 26.60 £ 7.00 prohibits the inclusion of the Scottish Field guide to overseas buyers. OB BOWMORE — Dusk 50% £ 26.90 £ 7.00 DEALS & DELIVERIES DEADLINE—SEE BACK PAGE. OB BOWMORE — Dawn 52% £ 26.90 £ 7.00

PAGE 6 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk MIDDLE SHELF: SAVE...... OB HIGHLAND PARK — 3∆ 12 40% £ 19.90 £ 4.00 OB BOWMORE — D 25 43% £ 89.00 £ 30.00 OB INVERARITY — 2 10 40% £ 17.90 £ 2.00 OB BOWMORE — D — ∆ 30 43% £ 124.00 £ 30.00 OB INVERARITY — ISLAY — 5 10 40% £ 20.90 £ 3.00 OB BUNNAHABHAIN — 4 12 40% £ 18.90 £ 5.00 OB INVERARITY — Ancestral — 314 40% £ 23.90 £ 4.00 OB-dCAOL ILA 15 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB ISLE OF JURA 10 40% £ 18.90 £ 4.00 OB-dCLYNELISH 14 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB KNOCKANDO ’87/12 40% £ 15.90 £ 5.70 OB-dDAILUAINE — 3 16 43% £ 27.90 £ 2.00 G&MLINKWOOD 15 40% £ 23.20 £ 4.00 OB-dROSEBANK 12 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB LOCHNAGAR (Royal) — 3 12 40% £ 20.90 £ 3.40 OB DALMORE — 3 12 40% £ 18.90 £ 6.00 OB LONGMORN — 3∆ 15 45% £ 21.90 £ 5.00 OB CARDHU 12 40% £ 20.90 £ 4.40 OB MACALLAN — 3 10 40% £ 19.90 £ 4.00 OB GLENFIDDICH — 2 12 40% £ 18.90 £ 3.00 OB-dMORTLACH 16 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB GLENFIDDICH — Solera — 315 40% £ 22.90 £ 6.00 OB OLD PULTENEY — 4 12 40% £ 18.70 £ 3.50 OB GLENFIDDICH 18 40% £ 32.50 £ 7.40 OB-dROSEBANK 12 43% £ 29.90 £ 2.00 OB GLEN GARIOCH 15 43% £ 19.90 £ 5.00 OB SPRINGBANK 10 46% £ 22.50 £ 2.00 OB GLEN GARIOCH — WB ’78/18 59% £ 31.60 £ 10.00 OB STRATHISLA 12 43% £ 18.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENGOYNE — 1 10 40% £ 19.90 £ 2.00 OB TAMNAVULIN — 35cl 12 40% £ 7.50 £ 2.50 OB GLENGOYNE — ∆ 17 43% £ 28.90 £ 7.40 OB TOMATIN 10 40% £ 17.40 £ 2.50 OB GLENMORANGIE — 2 10 40% £ 20.90 £ 2.00 THE ‘CLASSIC MALTS’ DISTILLERS EDITION (— DE) OB GLENMORANGIE — Port 12+ 43% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 OB CRAGGANMORE — DE ’85/15 43% £ 30.50 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — Madeira12+ 43% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 OB DALWHINNIE—DE 1985 43% £ 30.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — 12+ 43% £ 21.90 £ 4.00 OB GLENKINCHIE — DE 1986 43% £ 30.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — ∆ 15 43% £ 26.40 £ 4.60 OB LAGAVULIN — DE 1984 43% £ 34.60 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE 18 43% £ 35.50 £ 4.40 OB OBAN — DE 1985 40% £ 30.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — S Reserve 43% £ 22.00 £ 2.90 OB TALISKER — DE 1988 46% £ 32.90 £ 3.00 OB GLENMORANGIE — WB ’77/21 43% £ 51.00 £ 8.90 SOME OB G’MORANGIE— Original 50cl’74/2543% £ 95.00 £ 74.00 OB GLENTURRET—Malt 35% £ 18.00 £ 1.70 OB GLEN MORAY — Chardonnay 40% £ 14.50 £ 2.00 OB HEATHER CREAM 17% £ 9.40 £ 1.50 OB GLEN MORAY — WB ’59/40 51% £ 435.00 £ 90.00 OB OLD PULTENEY LIQUEUR £ 11.90 £ 3.00 BOTTOM SHELF: BEST DEAL OF THE LOT!(?): OB GLENROTHES ’89/12 43% £ 29.20 £ 6.00 BUY ANY 4 OR MORE MALTS FROM OUR STOCK LIST AND 2 OB GLENTURRET 12 40% £ 20.90 £ 3.00 OR MORE BOTTLES OF LOCH FYNE FOR FREE UK DELIVERY! OB GLENTURRET 15 40% £ 35.50 £ 4.00 OB LOCH FYNE 40% £15.30 OB GLENTURRET 18 40% £ 49.90 £ 4.10 Check lfw.co.uk for any late deals and up to date availability.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 7 ON BUYING A DISTILLERY Charles MacLean Have you ever dreamed of owning a distillery in Scotland? I can as- sure you there are many who do: I have been asked to advise half a dozen inter- ested parties over the past two years. Trouble is, distilleries don’t often come up for sale, and when they do, their own- ers are often reluctant to allow the pur- of the Bank of Scotland! At 11.59am with chaser to continue to distil whisky, since one minute to spare, the funds were in they have probably been closed because place. Phew! For reasons I never under- there is surplus production. And this is stand it took a further week to shift the just the first hurdle to jump… funds to JBB and we took possession, 30 One such dreamer is the London-based minutes after the birth of my first child— wine merchant, Mark Reynier, but un- and ten years of trying! One hell of a day!” like most, he has realised his dream. Although the distillery was technically Here’s how it came about. operational, a lot of repair and restora- Together with his partner, Simon tion work had to be done. Reynier and Coughlin, Mark began to bottle odd casks his partner were incredibly fortunate in of in the early 1990s, managing to tempt Jim McEwan, former under the label ‘Murray McDavid’ – his Distillery Manager at Bowmore and a maternal grandparents’ surnames. In legendary brand ambassador for malt 1996 they were joined by Gordon Wright, whisky and Scotland, to sacrifice his pen- former marketing director for sion and join them as Director of Produc- , Campbeltown, tion. If anybody knows about distilling, from whom they had been buying occa- Jim does. He began working in distiller- sional casks since 1991. ies thirty-eight years ago as an appren- The dream of owning a distillery began tice cooper and his passion for whisky is to shape itself in their minds about then. matched only by his love for his home- They made a pitch for Islay’s Ardbeg Dis- land, Islay. “In a small way, I believe tillery in 1997 and were runners up to Bruichladdich can be a catalyst for re- Glenmorangie; soon after this they heard building the island community. Not all that , also on the the youngsters who go to Glasgow or Lon- fabled whisky isle, might be available. Its don for degrees want to stay away. We owners, Jim Beam Brands, had need to bring them back, but there has COLLECTABLES... mothballed it in 1994 but seemed uncer- to be something to come back to.” A year ago Macallan established a tain what to do with it. I remember tel- Using a team of mainly local men, Jim think tank of whisky specialists to con- ephoning JBB’s Finance Director in about set about putting the distillery to rights sider what to do with their stocks of aged 1998 on behalf of another interested party in January this year. The first spirit whiskies (see Glen Barlow SWR 14). The and he was very oblique: “We might be flowed from the stills at 8.26 am on 29th first result of these workshops is the prepared to sell to the right people, but May. It was a nail-biting moment; when ‘1861’ or ‘McWilliam’, a faithful replica the distillery is not officially for sale”, etc. anything is replaced at a distillery, peo- of our favourite bottle from their ar- Mark will have received the same per- ple get nervous that the spirit character chives (£89) with over 17,000 produced plexing reply, but he persisted for four might change. In this case, Jim had to it’s still very desirable. Sales have shown years and was rewarded at last, in Janu- wait for far longer than he expected for our thinking to be popular. Also comes ary 2000, when JBB said they would sell the foreshots – the first running of the still the first of a series of Vintages, each of for £6.5 million (which included several – to clear so he could start saving spirit. finite and declared quantity, The 1951 thousand casks of mature whisky at vari- “We couldn’t look at each other,” he says, (632 bottles) is £1350; the 1961 with half ous ages) on condition he obtained the “for fear of breaking down into tears”. as many bottles (379) is a relative bar- backing of a major bank. On September 6th Jim and his team gain at £725. “The Bank of Scotland said they would launched their new range of The Laphroaig—Erskine Hospital support the venture to the tune of £3 mil- Bruichladdich single malts, at 10, 15 and bottles (£290) are described on the back lion, provided I raised the balance from 20 years old, all at 46%Vol and bottled page and selling well to Islay fans. private investors. I don’t think they be- without colouring or chill-filtration. I was Balvenie Islay Cask Finish (steady lieved I could do it but I discussed it with there, and can assure you that they are Dave!) is nearly sold out. A huge quan- friends and customers. The support for outstandingly good. I have never been a tity has been moved and it wobbles be- such a home-spun venture was hearten- fan of Bruichladdich, but these whiskies tween being collectable or drinkable; ing, especially since we were not an in- are something else. It just shows what now one per person. (£53.90). dustrial giant, with huge financial cred- you can do when you have someone who At £36.90 the Glengoyne Scottish ibility. At last I had forty-eight investors, really knows what they are doing to se- Oak finish (Dave?) is a bargain, the all private: one third of the equity came lect your casks. Just another thing for right combination of quantity (5,000) from Islay and over half from Scotland. those who dream about owning a malt and price for a genuinely unique and in- I went back to the Bank, who evidently whisky distillery to bear in mind… teresting product. Previously all casks were shocked that I had succeeded and have been imported, local oak being bet- that they now had to take me seriously! ter for warships or charcoal for iron and JBB’s closing date was 12pm on Friday gunpowder, hoard one and drink one. 12th December; by 10am we were still We’re down to the very last few cases of £300,000 short, but were assured that the Aberlour a’bunah Silver Label (£65) money had been ‘sent’ but had been lost one of the most innovative and impres- in cyberspace—and from another branch sive presentations; 2,000 bottles only.

PAGE 8 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk a finish that no one else has tried before. ...and DRINKABLES A CHEQUERED HISTORY The problem is that in this relentless All three Bruichladdichs are as ex- Dave Broom push for the new frontier the original pected—superb! The 10yo—traditional It was a beautiful day on the Dufftown principle of has been forgotten, style; 15yo—slightly sherried, biscuity golf course. Grant Grant-Grant (though namely putting a different spin on the and fruity; 20yo—a sublime whisky. it might have been Gordon Gordon, his- distillery character. Now the finish has We got a wonderful surprise when we torians disagree) was on the 17th fair- become more important than the whisky got round to opening the Ledaigs on our way. “Pass me m’two wood,” was what he rather than the other way round. Fact list—very peaty (again, bottlings had meant to say but, mind already on the is, while some—indeed many—work gone quiet) and great quality; the 15yo 19th hole and the reassuring comfort of beautifully, you can cover up a lot of faults is good, the 20 worthwhile. That Ardbeg leather armchair and tweed carpet, out with a finish: refresh a woody old malt 1977 is getting low and the peatiest yet. came: “Make mine a double wood, caddy!” for example, while there are some which Bunnahabhain and Glengoyne have With that, the ‘finish’ bandwagon began simply don’t work. If I want the flavour been exceptional—stock profiles at the to roll. Balvenie (owned by a distant rela- of new American oak barrels then I’ll buy distillery mean that we are drinking tive) latched onto Grant-Grant’s idea and a bourbon thank you very much. Neither much older whisky than declared on the Glenmorangie followed soon after. UDV do I want a whisky that tastes (and looks) label! The ’Goyne is the current personal sought out the most obscure types of for- like you’ve accidentally poured a dram favourite; crisp apples! tified wine in the world. Allied started a into someone’s half-empty wine glass. A new range of un-chillfiltered malts programme then forgot the question, What started off as a production-led in- from Signatory contains top sellers, in while Bowmore sent Ginger Willie out in novation has become marketing mad- particular the oaky old highlander a rowing boat to try and salvage the wine ness. It’s been said that finishes are a way Millburn, the fruity Glen Rothes and the barrels that had fallen into Lochindaal to stimulate the market, to attract new long finishing Caol Ila. after Jim McEwan had shown everyone drinkers yet when I talk to brand man- We’re looking forward to an OB Port the correct way to load a puffer. agers they admit, somewhat sadly, that Ellen, PE’s getting expensive, so hesita- Like all great ideas the principle was the people who buy finishes aren’t new tion ill-advised. Rare Malts have four fiendishly simple. Take a mature malt consumers but existing whisky drinkers. new bottlings imminent including a whisky aged in bourbon cask and give it This isn’t about ‘growing the category’ it’s promising Glen Mhor, Brora, Millburn a glossy new coat by finishing it for a about ensuring that people keep buying and Bladnoch. The current Glenury short period in a cask that had previously your brand. Hard-nosed marketing lies and Teaninich are fantastic, big old- held another liquid [sherry, port, Ma- behind the two new Islay finishes, hy- fashioned highland styles, really chewy. deira]. You got the character of the origi- brids which combine two strong brands Tamnavulin at 28 years is not some- nal malt, but with a new twist. ‘Balvenie/Grouse’ and ‘Islay’. Another box thing that many may consider but if you Those sun-dappled days of joyous opti- has been opened. A source has told me want balanced complexity with chewy mism have long gone. Those fresh-faced that one distiller is working on a Port fruitiness....dram on! youths who so happily skipped down the Ellen Speyside finish, while new inde- finish lane have become haunted figures, pendent bottler Alba Quercus is currently obsessed with finding new barrels to fin- taking a malt on tour around Scotland, ish their product in. “Just one more”, they finishing the whisky for six months in are heard to whisper to their MDs, “I each of the regions, ending it with a pe- promise, it will be the last”. The addic- riod in herring barrels to capture the tion is so far advanced that rumour has original Campbeltown reek. The German it that Glenmorangie has placed security market is reportedly very excited by this guards outside Bill Lumsden’s bedroom innovation. What we've ended up with after he was caught trying to smuggle a here is the whisky finish whisky, which consignment of Zimbabwean I'm sure you'll agree is a wonderfully Gewurztraminer barrels into Warehouse post-modern notion, though one which No1 under cover of darkness. isn't that distant from that unfashionable The situation is now so out of control that old-time concept, blending. barrel dealers, taking their inspiration Maybe we could have coped with our cre- from Burke & Hare, are breaking into the dulity being stretched that little bit fur- warehouses of famous chateaux, port ther had Grant Grant-Grant not sat lodges and sherry bodegas and making down at the 19th hole, once again within off with their stock. Every night, the resi- earshot of local distillers and asked for dents of Jerez are woken by cries of “Get “A Family Reserve and a Caley IPA”. yer hands off my butt!” There are armed “What a combination”, he cried to no-one patrols on the streets of Vila Nova de in particular. “Someone should bottle Gaion the lookout for suspicious Scots- this.” You know the rest and you also men with large bulges under their jack- know that it won’t stop there. As soon as ets. Colombian cartels are rumoured to one firm brings out a new finish all its be trying to muscle in on the action. rivals have to trump it. And still they come. Finished whiskies There are currently research teams in of every hue, of every age, doubly ma- Edinburgh’s Diggers dribbling McEwan’s tured in dubiously acquired barrels from 80/- into nips of . There’s a the world’s wine regions are flooding the Fowler’s Wee Heavy and Tennent’s Su- market. These days it’s ‘unfinished’ prod- per finish in development. There’s even ucts which are the innovative newcom- talk of the half an a half an a fish supper ers. The industry is in the grip of a weird finish. I can reveal that Jim Beam try- madness. Don’t get me wrong. I too like ing to force Richard Paterson to make an finished products, but Grant-Grant’s slip Aftershock finish triggered the MBO at of the tongue on the Dufftown golf course Whyte & MacKay. That’s not all... Last opened up a Pandora’s box. Not only must week I heard of plans to use ex-Finlandia every firm have a finish, but must have vodka barrels to do a Finnish finish.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 9 BEYOND DISTILLING pt.I GAVIN D SMITH We have commissioned Gavin to guide us on the journey your dram takes between the malt distillery and your tumbler. Future articles will explore this fascinating world of logistics, bottling, packaging, etc.

It may seem unseemly and unseasonal to divert your attention from the notion of rich, golden malts consumed beside a blazing log fire with a favourite Labra- dor draped over your feet. However, we quired to appear before the Kirk Session from UDV’s Communications Manager are about to talk not turkey but . for the heinous crime of distilling on the Peter Smith are enough to give you a This is because that most quintessen- Sabbath, and from the 18th century on- sense of just how much John ’s origi- tially English drink is now almost as wards, Haigs were major players in the nal Lowland malt distillery by the Leven Scottish as whisky. Around three out of Lowland distilling movement. has grown and developed over the years, every four bottles of gin produced in Robert’s great-great-grandson John recently building on the reputation for Britain actually originate in Scotland, married into an equally powerful Low- diversity it enjoyed in Barnard’s day. and worse still, for the malt purist, that land whisky dynasty when he wed The actual buildings occupy a 75-acre most quintessentially Russian drink Margaret Stein in 1751, and the couple’s site, and in a fortnight the distillery pro- vodka is also a product of five sons trained as distillers at the duces more spirit than many reasonably Scotia’s shores. Stein-owned Kilbagie distillery. The large malt distilleries do in a year. An- Far from having its origins somewhere youngest of the five Haig boys was nual output of is around in the Home Counties, Gordon’s London William, who went on to build his own the 70 million litres of alcohol mark, and Dry Gin is distilled exclusively at United Seggie distillery at Guardbridge, near grain neutral spirit around 25mla per Distillers & Vintners’ Cameronbridge St Andrews, which he passed on to his year. 170,000 tonnes of wheat—most of distillery, close to the village of son John in 1837. John was already it grown quite locally in Fife, the Lothi- Windygates, on the banks of the River proving to be a chip off the old block, ans and Angus—are consumed by the Leven in the county of Fife. Here Grain however, having taken out a licence for plant each year, along with 2.7bn litres Neutral Spirit (GNS) for Gordon’s and a malt distillery at Cameronbridge in of water. Some 100,000 tonnes of ani- , Smirnoff and a range 1824, while still in his early twenties. mal feed are recycled annually by the of ‘sweetened products’ is distilled along- In 1830 John decided to listen to what distillery. side vast quantities of grain whisky for his cousin Robert Stein of Kilbagie had The current Coffey still house was con- use in & Vintners been saying about a new-fangled type structed during the 1960s, and two of plethora of blends. of ‘continuous’ still he had developed, its three stills are more than 30 years If your idea of a Scottish distillery is which had the potential to produce spirit old. The third was transferred from something built from whitewashed far more quickly, cheaply and efficiently Carsebridge distillery when it fell silent stone, crowned with bold copper pago- than traditional pot stills. The first pair in 1983, as the old Distillers Company das, then a visit to Cameronbridge might of Stein’s continuous stills outside of Ltd began a programme of closures that come as quite a shock. The plant is vast Kilbagie was installed at would result in the concentration of DCL in scale and modern in design, and its Cameronbridge, and amazingly, one of —later United Distillers—grain distill- buildings betray nothing of their func- them remained in use until 1929. ing at Cameronbridge and Port Dundas tion until you get close enough to see Initially they produced ‘silent malt’ in Glasgow. Despite the many advances that the two glass-fronted structures the spirit, but by the time that distillery in technology of all kinds, the basic still size of blocks of flats house a range of chronicler Alfred Barnard visited dur- design remains much the same as that stills. One contains three Coffey stills for ing the mid-1880s, Cameronbridge was developed by Aeneas Coffey and pat- grain whisky production, while the sec- also equipped with a pair of more effi- ented in 1831. ond is home to nine patent stills for cient Coffey stills and was turning out In 1989 Cameronbridge changed from Grain Neutral Spirit production. mainly grain spirit, utilising a variety being a large-scale grain whisky distill- There are no pagodas, not even cosmetic of cheaper grains rather than the tradi- ery into a ‘dual-purpose’ site, when ones, to make the nostalgic visitor feel tional malted barley favoured by Scot- United Distillers’ Grain Neutral Spirit comfortable, though the distillery, in tish pot still distilleries. In addition to operation was transferred to Fife from fact, has a long and honourable herit- the two Steins and the two Coffeys, a Wandsworth in London, and 24-hour, age, and a number of 19th century stone pair of pot stills survived, and malt seven days a week working practices buildings remain, hemmed in by their whisky was made at Cameronbridge were introduced. Now GNS for white newer and bolder neighbours. until the 1920s. spirits and ‘sweetened products’ such as A large, imposing redbrick building Writing of Cameronbridge, Alfred Archers, Pimms and Gordon’s , stands at Markinch, a couple of miles Barnard noted, “The actual buildings was produced alongside grain spirit des- from Cameronbridge, and although no cover about 14 acres, and the Bonded tined for blended whisky six or seven longer connected with whisky, it still Warehouses are capable of stowing years down the line. bears the name of Haig in large letters. 3,000,000 gallons… The whisky made Before the expansion, Cameronbridge This was the centre of the Haig whisky here is said to have no rival in the world. employed over 200 people, yet despite empire for more than a century, from its There are several kinds manufactured, the vast increase in output, today’s construction in 1877 until its closure first patent “Grain Whisky”, second “Pot workforce is around the 120 mark, prin- during the 1980s. Still Irish”, third “Silent Malt”, and cipally due to greater automation. Four Historically, Fife is very much Haig fourth “Flavoured Malt”. The annual men work in the main control-room, con- country, and no Scottish family can claim output is 1,300,000 gallons, but this ducting the actual distilling via compu- a longer involvement with distilling. could be increased if necessary”. ter screens. Back in 1655 one Robert Haig was re- A few of the current statistics available Such is the requirement for quality con-

PAGE 10 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk trol at every stage of production that twice as many employees are to be found in the on-site laboratory, where rows of miniature stills are active, performing test , with juniper and cori- ander for gin manufacture being sub- jected to stringent analysis. Sadly, the miniature stills are not for sale to curi- ous members of the general public – not even as Christmas presents for LFW customers. “The overall quality of what we produce is hugely important”, says General Manager Billy Mitchell, “be- cause it supports very important brands worldwide”. Following the merger between United Distillers and International Distillers & Vintners in 1998 a considerable amount of rationalisation was required, and one aspect of that rationalisation was the concentration of UK white spirit produc- tion at Cameronbridge. The White Spir- aroma of juniper, camomile, angelica where the wash undergoes two days of its Complex dates from 1999, and it pro- and coriander escapes from old-fash- fermentation—less than it would in a duces Gordon’s and Tanqueray gins and ioned hessian sacks. malt distillery. Smirnoff vodka. The fashionable lemon-flavoured drink The fermented wash at 7.5% is then ei- The new complex contains the Gordon’s Smirnoff Ice has been produced at ther directed into the Coffey stills to pro- gin stills that were formerly located at Cameronbridge since September 2001, duce grain whisky or the column stills Laindon in Essex, and the undoubted having been developed at Santa Vittoria of the neighbouring GNS plant. Those star of the new stillroom is Old Tom, a in Italy, and in the run up to Christmas of a technical bent will already be com- gin still which has been in continuous demand for it was stretching capacity fortable with the complexities of what use since the reign of George III. There at Cameronbridge. As Billy Mitchell ex- happens in the twin analyser and recti- is something quite surreal about find- plains of the changed dynamics, “With fier columns of the Coffey still, and the ing a still that was making gin while the grain spirit for whisky there is about rest of us can content ourselves with the Bonnie Prince Charlie was alive and a seven year gap between production knowledge that grain whisky is distilled drinking in exile in Rome cheek- and use, but now we can bring in wheat to 94.8% and GNS to 96.3%, by-jowl with an ultra-modern computer- today and in ten days time it can be The grain whisky is taken away to be controlled room in a two year old build- Gordon’s gin”. casked and matured, while the GNS that ing. Across from the control room are 11 Grain whisky production is still at the is not processed on site into gin or vodka stainless steel Smirnoff columns, where heart of the Cameronbridge operation, is tankered to nearby Leven, where in charcoal filtration of the Russian tipple however, and its grain is to be found in the ‘SPA’ (Sweetened Products Area) takes place. all UDV blends to a greater or lesser Pimms, Archers, Gordon’s Sloe Gin and For those of us who like our stills cop- degree. With Port Dundas and owner- Smirnoff Ice are miraculously created per-coloured and curvaceous the old riv- ship of 50% of Edinburgh’s North Brit- from it by a process of ‘in-line’ mixing, eted gin stills are comfortingly reminis- ish grain distillery in addition to involving the addition of flavouring and cent of the still house of a malt distill- Cameronbridge, UDV has between 35 sugar to computer-controlled recipes. ery, and below the control room is a and 40% of the total grain whisky mar- The ‘stickies’, as the SPA products are marvellously fragrant ‘botanicals’ store, ket in Scotland. colloquially known, are also bottled at where the high-tech world is again left Contrary to popular belief, grain whis- Leven, with the exception of Smirnoff behind for a few moments, and the kies from the country’s eight grain dis- Ice, along with gin and vodka distilled tilleries are far from being characterless at Cameronbridge. The entire world out- ‘silent spirit’. North British, for exam- put of Pimms and Gordon’s Sloe Gin is ple, is made with maize, and is tangier produced at Leven, which is also the only and sharper in flavour than the more UK site making Archers and the coco- gentle, slightly sweeter Cameronbridge, nut-flavoured rum drink . distilled principally from wheat. The Leven site dates from 1973 and cov- “Our role in life is to produce a clean, ers 150 acres, including warehousing, consistent spirit for blenders to hang blending, sweetened product, packaging other things on”, says Billy Mitchell. Not and coopering operations. It currently all the grain whisky ‘make’ of handles 141 different brands and em- Cameronbridge goes for blending, how- ploys 440 permanent staff. A few years ever. Some is bottled as Cameron Brig ago it was concerned solely with whisky, single grain, and enjoys an enthusias- but today some eighty percent of its busi- tic local following in Fife. ness involves packaging white spirits. For those of a technical bent, the proc- According to Billy Mitchell, “Taking ess of making grain spirit at Cameronbridge and Leven as one, prob- Cameronbridge begins with the wheat ably no other site in the world has the being cooked under pressure in giant diversity we have here”. cookers, then as much as 10% malt is Now, if you wish, you may replace the added to help release fermentable sug- Labrador and go back to thinking about ars during . Each mash takes those malts. Admit it, though, a Scotch some 44 hours. Cameronbridge boasts G&T would slip down nicely before no fewer than 26 large washbacks, lunch…

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk PAGE 11 MIRROR IMAGE A 100 year old advertising mirror has returned to its spiritual home—well al- most! Measuring a massive 10 feet by 4 it is far too big to be displayed in our shop and now has to reside in The George Hotel, across the road. The mirror, featured in a recent Phillips auction in Edinburgh, advertises four whiskies sold by William Foulds & Co. ‘Distillers of High Class Scotch Whis- kies—Paisley, Ardrishaig & London’ in- THE ULTIMATE WHISKY COLLECTION... cluding the Loch Fyne on sale for 4/- (or ...is how Distillery Manager John MacLellan has described this gathering of ten 20p). bottles of 1965 Bunnahabhain, each signed by one of the distillery workers in- Several people called to tell us about it volved in its production and referred to in Ian Good’s interview (page 2). and as owners of the Loch Fyne brand “This bottling using the very last cask of 1965 was the result of suggestions made we just had to have this monster addi- to the Chairman of our company during his visit to the distillery and all decanting, tion to our heritage—never mind that bottling and packaging was done at the distillery. The total number of bottles pro- we had nowhere to store it! duced was 594 and each bottle is signed by myself and one fellow worker giving The Loch Fyne trademark was regis- ten variations. All were sold very quickly.” tered in 1884 by J. M. Borthwick and A tiny quantity was made available to LFW and we realised we almost had a passed to William Foulds with their ac- complete set. With the assistance of distillery administrator, Lillian Mac Arthur, quisition of the Glenfyne Distillery at appropriate swaps were made and the unique complete collection is on display in Ardrishaig in 1889. On liquidation in the shop. “I know of no other such collection, not even in our company” said John. 1919 the assets were acquired by re- nowned Glasgow whisky brokers Robertson & Baxter, from whom Loch NEWS FROM Fyne Whiskies bought the trade mark in 1995. We decided that the mirror was To mark Prince Charles’ birthday LFW.CO.UK part of the brand and something that Laphroaig gave him a cask of his favour- Our Collectors’ Loft in the many other brand owners would be very ite. Fifteen years on, HRH donated the shop is now being posted envious of. It was a bargain at any price cask to the Erskine Hospital for ex-serv- online in manageable chunks. Every two —although a significant cost was mov- ice men and women and Allied Distill- weeks or so a dozen old, rare or discon- ing it from Edinburgh to Argyll! ers squeezed out 270 bottles for them. tinued bottles are featured on lfw.co.uk Of these, 105 had a ‘Crags’ and 105 a and is, for us, a huge success! Sales have ‘Barrels’ label. The remainder have a been very quick as evidently many of you third label described as ‘Mansion House’; are watching closely and frequently. You GEORGE URQUHART these are being retained by the Hospi- can access the Collectors’ Loft through The whisky trade was saddened to tal for later fund-raising. lfw.co.uk/news learn of the death of George Urquhart, To date 46 Crag and 46 Barrel bottles Two new photo stories have been enjoyed Chairman of Gordon & MacPhail, in have been sold, raffled or auctioned by by visitors. The second Islay Whisky September. the fund-raisers, resulting in £32,000! Festival covers two long pages, pictures We interviewed Mr. George, as he was Each bottle comes with an elegant lidded from which have made it into Whisky known by his employees, in SWR4. It is box and an explanatory certificate signed Magazine. The launch of the new evident there what a charming and in- personally by distillery manager Iain Bruichladdich features more important fluential man he was and without argu- Henderson and hospital chief executive people drinking far too much! Both of ment the father of the malt whisky busi- Martin Gibson. these are at lfw.co.uk/swr ness that we know today. Since becom- Loch Fyne Whiskies has volunteered to Check online for new items and stock ing head of G&M in 1956, he steadfastly sell and deliver the remaining 120 bot- availability. All the deals featured in this bottled single malts for connoisseurs to tles. The price is £290 per bottle and all SWR and any latecomers can be ordered enjoy and G&M gained the highest re- proceeds go to the hospital. securely online. gard in the whisky industry under his guidance. The company, which employs ALL CUSTOMERS—VIRTUAL AND REAL 114 people in Elgin, is now run by his PLEASE NOTE three sons and one daughter. All deals offered at lfw.co.uk and in pages In 1998 he was joined by Prince Charles 6 & 7 are valid for mail order customers for the re-opening of the recently ac- placing orders before noon, Monday quired and restored Benromach Distill- 17th December. This date is also the ery, a dream fulfilled. deadline for orders being delivered in With G&M for over 60 years, Mr. George time for Christmas. protected the integrity of the Scotch Online orders may not appear to include Whisky industry through changing and certain deals but be assured they will challenging times. He will be a great loss be included when serviced, if available. to all those who knew him or enjoyed the benefit of his vision. Merry Christmas and a Good New Year The interview is at lfw.co.uk/swr to all our friends and customers.

SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW is free to all bona fide mail order customers. If you have not bought by mail order from the last (Spring) catalogue and do not buy from the accompanying (Autumn) list then we will not be troubling you again. We are no longer sending out Stock Lists and SWRs to prospective customers more than once. If you or a friend would like a current stock list please ask and you will be sent one with a back-issue SWR. Your name will not be placed on our mailing list for further mailings until you have bought by mail order from us. Your name will not be passed to any other organisation. © COPYRIGHT RESERVED 2001 LOCH FYNE WHISKIES Tel. 01499 302219 e-mail [email protected]

PAGE 12 SCOTCH WHISKY REVIEW—Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8UD. www.LFW.co.uk