Glentauchers distillery information
The Glentauchers distillery was founded in 1897, with the first stone laid on May 29th on a field on the land of Tauchers Farm in the Speyside region. The owners, James Buchanan & Company (creators of the Black & White blend, as well as Buchanan blends) who paired up with their Glaswegian supplier W. P. Lowrie & Co. Ltd, whisky broker and trader picked the location because of a good water supple as well as nearby roads and a railway, thus allowing for easy transportation. A railway siding built behind the distillery connected Glentauchers to this railroad. The distillery itself was designed by John Alcock, supervised by famous distillery architect Charles Doig. The first malting took place in May 1898, with the first distillation in June. Shortly after, the Pattison whisky crisis rocked the industry, but somehow the young distillery survived without noticeable issues. By 1906, however, W.P. Lowrie ran into financial trouble, and Buchanan took full control of the distillery. By 1910, experiments were taking place at Glentauchers in an attempt to run continuous distillation, with specially designed stills. The drawings showing the design of these continuous stills are on display at the Doig Collection in the Moray district Library in Elgin. Other distilleries that tinkered with these stills were Convalmore (Dufftown, Speyside, closed) and Lochruan (Campbeltown, closed). In 1915 Buchanan merged with Dewars. Between 1923 and 1925, extensive work was done on the distillery, including the addition of a new spirit store, and shortly after Buchanan-Dewars was absorbed by Distillery Company Limited (DCL) in 1925. In 1930, ownership of the distillery was transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD), who licensed the distillery to James Buchanan & Company. In 1955, the existing turbine was replaced with a new steam engine, followed by distillery being hooked up to the national power grid in 1958. In 1963, the stills were converted to steam heating, and between 165 and 1966, the distillery was rebuilt and enlarged, with the number of stills increased from two to six. The malting floors were closed in 1968. In 1985, United Distillers, successors to SMD, decided to mothball Glentauchers, though four years later, in 1989 the distillery was sold on to Caledonian Malt Whisky Distilleries (a subsidiary of Allied Distillers), who reopened it and resumed production in August of that same year. In 2005, ownership was transferred to Pernod Ricard, following their acquisition of most of Allied Distillers whisky business. In 2006, some of the cast iron spirit receivers dating back to the 1930s were replaced (not including the wooden Intermediate Spirit Receiver), with the final setup seeing every pair of stills equipped with their own receivers. In 2007, the mash house is upgraded, with the installation of a new mash tun. Glentauchers nowadays is still manuall operated now, as it is used as a training facility for Pernod Ricard staff.Glentauchers Whiskies
Most of the produce from Glentauchers is used for blending. Some official bottlings have been released, as well as some semi-official expressions by Gordon & MacPhail.- Special Distillery Bottling; 15 Years Old (released in 2000)
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Glentauchers |
| Region | Speyside |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Water source | Rosarie and Tauchers burns |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Pernod Ricard |
| Address | Chivas Bros Glentauchers Distillery Keith AB55 6YL United Kingdom +44 (0) 1542 860272 |
| Visitor centre | No |
| Website | ? |
| ? | |
| ? | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 12 tonnes | 1 (Stainless steel, Full lauter) |
| Washback | ? litres | 6 (Larch) |
| Wash still | 10,000 litres | 3 |
| Spirit Still | 6,300 litres | 3 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 4,500,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Glentauchers was founded in 1897, with the first stone laid on 29 May on land belonging to Tauchers Farm in the Speyside region. Owners James Buchanan & Company, creators of the Black & White blend, paired with their Glasgow supplier W.P. Lowrie & Co Ltd to build it, choosing the site for its good water supply and nearby roads and railway, with a dedicated railway siding built behind the distillery for easy transport. It was designed by John Alcock, supervised by architect Charles Doig.
Yes. The first malting took place in May 1898, with the first distillation that June. Shortly after, the Pattison crisis rocked the whisky industry, but the young distillery came through without any noticeable issues.
By 1906, W.P. Lowrie had run into financial trouble, and Buchanan took full control of the distillery. By 1910, Glentauchers was experimenting with specially designed stills aimed at continuous distillation; the original drawings are held in the Doig Collection at Moray district library in Elgin. Two other distilleries, the now-closed Convalmore in Dufftown and Lochruan in Campbeltown, tinkered with the same technology. Buchanan merged with Dewar’s in 1915.
Buchanan-Dewar’s was absorbed into Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1925, following extensive work on the distillery between 1923 and 1925 that added a new spirit store. Ownership transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) in 1930, who licensed the distillery back to James Buchanan & Company. United Distillers, SMD’s successor, mothballed Glentauchers in 1985, but it was sold in 1989 to Caledonian Malt Whisky Distilleries, a subsidiary of Allied Distillers, who reopened it that August. Ownership passed to Pernod Ricard in 2005 following their acquisition of most of Allied Distillers’ whisky business.
The distillery’s turbine was replaced with a steam engine in 1955, and it was connected to the national power grid in 1958. The stills converted to steam heating in 1963, and between 1965 and 1966 the distillery was rebuilt and enlarged, increasing the number of stills from two to six; the malting floors closed in 1968. In 2006, some 1930s cast-iron spirit receivers were replaced, giving every pair of stills its own receiver, and the mash house was upgraded with a new mash tun in 2007.
Glentauchers is still manually operated, and is now used as a training facility for Pernod Ricard staff.
Most of Glentauchers’ produce is used for blending. A handful of official bottlings have been released, including a Special Distillery Bottling 15 Years Old in 2000, alongside some semi-official expressions from Gordon & MacPhail.
No, Glentauchers does not have a visitor centre.