DISTILLERIES

THE GLENROTHES DISTILLERY

Glenrothes is situated on the Tay tributary of the River Spey, in the heart of the Speyside. The same town boasts some 5 distilleries, namely the Speyburn, Glan Grant, Glen Spey, Caperdonich and of course the Glenrothes itself, officially produced from the waters of the Ardcanny Spring.

Nowadays, Glenrothes is an award-winning Speyside Single Malt, characterized by sweet, fruity elegance, with flavourings of ripe fruits, citrus, vanilla, and a spicy finish encased in creamy textures. But it has not been plain sailing for the distillery.

Whilst whisky making commenced in Rothes in 1840, it was not until 1870 that work started on the development of the Glenrothes distillery. One of the founders, James Stuart, took over the Macallan distillery in 1868, and apparently quit involvement in Glenrothes in 1878, leaving Robert Dick and William Grant to drive the project.

One year later, on December 28th 1879, the “Tay Bridge Disaster” happened. The railway bridge over the Tay collapsed, plunging a passenger train into the icy Tay, and killing 75 passengers. The very same day was marked with the flow of the first whisky from the distillery.

In 1887, Glenrothes joined with the Bunnahabhain distillery of Islay to form the Highland Distilleries Limited. Annual production grew, and in 1896 a second pair of stills was added. Under the management of John Smith, an experienced Speyside distiller, the capacity grew, and the distillery flourished. John was succeeded as distillery manager by his son, and then his grandson.

 The distillery had a tough time during the early part of the centity. During the First World War, the distillery briefly closed, and upon re-opening was hit in 1920 by the introduction of Prohibition before suffering a fire in the warehouse in 1922, which destroyed 200,000 gallons of maturing whisky. The struggles continued, seeing production fall to a 44 year low in 1931, and a second closing in 1933. However, this closure was also brief, with the repeal of the American Prohibition. Things started to improve.

One point of note during this period was the launch of the Cutty Sark whisky, by Berry Bros. based on the Glenrothes malt. Whisky experts know that Glenrothes malts have been blended and respected by many in the trade for a long time. That said, it was not until nearly 50 years later that Berry Bros proposed the production of a single malt under the Glenrothes name.

In the interim, a third and fourth pair of stills were added, while floor malting was abandoned in favour of malted barley instead being sourced from the sister Tamdhu distillery. Herein therefore, we have a link between Tamdhu, Cutty Sark, and Bunnahabhain, showing the legacy and pedigree of Glenrothes. Clearly the quality of the Glenrothes was known and considered “inside information” by the Mater Blenders of Scotch whisky.

In 1987, the Glenrothes 12 year old, single malt was launched. Following purchase of the Rothes House by Berry Bros, its renovation, an addition of a fifth pair of stills, the Cutty Sark label finally sailed to claim its spiritual home at Glenrothes in 1991. The famous whisky ship had been at sea for 68 years. And in 1994, the first ever Vintage Malt, a 25 year old known as “The Glenrothes Vintage 1979”, was launched.

Never without drama, it went “part time” in 2000, cutting production to 2.8 million litres per year, sharing production efforts with Tamdhu in a strategy to tackle the industry over-supply. To put this in perspective, the small town of Rothes has the capacity to fill 50 million bottles of whisky per year.

Over the years, The Glenrothes has quietly ascended from a well kept ingredient in quality blends, to a stand alone Single Malt, complete with Vintages, Single Casks, and house Reserves.

“TOAST TO THE GHOST”

Biawa “Byeway” Makalaga was an orphaned child, found during the Boar War by Colonel Grant of Rothes under a bush on a track in Africa, rescued and taken back to Scotland. He grew up to become the Colonel’s helper and somewhat of a character in Rothes, at one stage playing for the village football team. He died in 1972.

When a new pair of stills was installed in 1979, a ghost was said to have appeared on two separate occasions inside the distillery. Nothing sinister was recounted, but concerns was sufficient and help was called, the investigation being handled by one Cedric Wilson, a university professor.

Mr Wilson assessed that a ley-line had been disturbed during the installation of the stills. He walked through the neighbouring cemetery in quiet contemplation, ambled up to a single gravestone, and had a quiet conversation at the graveside. He returned a few minutes later, explaining that all had been resolved amicably, and all was well.

The grave he had visited was that, without knowing more or ever having visited the graveyard before, was that of “Byeway” Makalaga, and whilst the ghost has never been seen again, a mark of respect is now tradition at Glenrothes. A dram of The Glenrothes is often drunk with a “Toast to the Ghost”, the ghost of Byeway Makalaga.

© 2008 GrainMash.