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Release Notes
One of 590 bottles drawn from 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt #900077 on June 20th of 2024. Originally distilled on July 26th of 2012.
From the Bottle
The Bottler: Signatory Vintage
| Established: 1988 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Edradour Distillery, Pitlochry, Perthshire & Kinross, PH16 5JP, Scotland |
Signatory owns the smallest distillery from Scotland, Edradour since 22 july 2002
In April 1992, as the company began to grow, they moved to much larger premises. Here, they were granted a licence to bottle their own products on site. They set-up a small line bottling system, primarily geared towards the bottling of single casks. Although the actual bottling of whisky is semi-automated, the emphasis is very much a hands-on operation, with hand labeling and packing of products. To add to the exclusivity of their bottlings, they often declare the cask number, date of distillation,and date of bottling on our labels. In addition,each bottle is individually hand numbered.
It is their aim, as an independent bottler to offer a range of whiskies, some of which are not bottled by the proprietor of a particular distillery, and some at different ages/strengths to those offered as distillery bottlings. The majority of their bottlings are the product of single casks, with the malt whisky enthusiast being given the opportunity to sample the subtle differences which occur with each different cask.
The name of Signatory derived from the fact that their initial intention was to find someone famous to sign the labels for bottles produced from one single cask. The first cask we purchased was a cask of 1968 Glenlivet, which was sold long before we could find a famous person.
Until April 1992, when they moved to their current premises in Newhaven (Edinburgh), they operated from a bonded warehouse in Leith. Leith was once a well known port for importing wine from France. As this industry declined, many of the whisky companies began to occupy the old warehouses for cask storage purposes. In recent years, this has also declined, with the larger companies moving to the west of Edinburgh, where transport links are better.
The company was founded in 1988. It is a family owned and managed company, being one of only three true independent bottlers. They always like to draw a distinction between the independent companies who bottle their own products, and the independent companies whose products are bottled under contract. The other fully independent bottlers are: Gordon & MacPhail and Wm. Cadenhead.
from Whisky-Distilleries.info
The Distillery: Glenallachie
| Established: 1967 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Glenallachie |
Glenallachie is one of the younger distilleries in Scotland. It was built in 1967 (partly in 1968) by Mackinlay McPherson Ltd., a subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries Ltd. Glenallachie is located in a part of Speyside that's especially rich in distilleries; Banffshire. You can find the distillery just South of Aberlour at the foot of Ben Rinnes.
The Glenallachie distillery was bought by the Invergordon Distillers Group in 1985, together with the Isle of Jura distillery. Invergordon closed Glenallachie in 1987. Two years later the distillery was sold on to Campbell Distillers, a subsidiary of industry giant Pernod Ricard. They added Glenallachie to the 'Chivas Regal' part of their whisky portfolio, which also includes brands like Aberlour and Glenlivet.
Pernod Ricard also increased the number of stills from two to four when the rekindled the fires of Glenallachie. Apart from the stills, Glenallachie used a semi-lauter mash tun and six washbacks that are lined with stainless steel. Horizontal tube condensers are used, as opposed to the regular vertical ones. Wash stills are shaped like lanterns, the spirit stills like onions.
The Glenallachie distillery is relatively unknown, but with an annual production capacity of 2,800,000 liters of pure alcohol per year it's actually among the Top 30 whisky distilleries in Scotland, production-wise. However, if my source was correct they haven't used their stills at full capacity for some time; they annually put out less than 2 million liters of whisky.
Most of the output of Glenallachie still goes into Chivas' own blends like Clan Campbell, 100 Pipers, Highland Clan, House of Lords, Passport, Queen Anne and - of course - Chivas Regal. There have been two or three official bottlings over the years (like the 12 years old from the 1980's depicted at the right). Single malt bottlings of Glenallachie are very rare - and the vast majority of those were produced by independent bottlers. After 'a decade of heavy dramming' the malt maniacs had managed to find less than three dozen independent bottlings, most of them bottled by Signatory Vintage. There have been less than half a dozen bottlings that have been released by or through the owners, but those can hardly be considered official bottlings.
The last time I checked the Malt Maniacs Monitor, Cadenhead's had bottled only four expressions that we know of. Nevertheless, it might be worth the effort because those expressions of the Glenallachie single malt whisky were amongst the very best that were ever released. Other expressions to hunt down are a 31 years old bottled in 2002 by Douglas Laing and a bottling of Glenallachie single malt whisky by the Scotch Single Malt Circle in 2004 - cask number 6000 to be precise.
Let's see - is there anything else worth sharing about Glenallachie? Well, perhaps not about the single malt whisky bottlings; those are exceptions. Glenallachie is one of those distilleries which were built to produce 'industrial' malt whisky for use in blends like Clan Campbell.
However, Glenallachie has one feature that makes it interesting for whisky lovers with a 'green' heart. The Scotch whisky industry is not exactly environmentally friendly, but around 2009 Glenallachie made a step in the right direction. A 'membrane bioreactor' was installed at the distillery which enabled the distillery to release its waste water into the nearby Lour Burn without significant negative effects on the Scottish environment. By increasing the PH-value, the copper particles have less of a negative effect according to the Malt Whisky Yearbook.
In The New Millenium
The Glenallachie distillery was bought by the Invergordon Distillers Group in 1985, together with the Isle of Jura distillery. Invergordon closed Glenallachie in 1987. Two years later the distillery was sold on to Campbell Distillers, a subsidiary of industry giant Pernod Ricard. They added Glenallachie to the 'Chivas Regal' part of their whisky portfolio, which also includes brands like Aberlour and Glenlivet.
Pernod Ricard also increased the number of stills from two to four when the rekindled the fires of Glenallachie. Apart from the stills, Glenallachie used a semi-lauter mash tun and six washbacks that are lined with stainless steel. Horizontal tube condensers are used, as opposed to the regular vertical ones. Wash stills are shaped like lanterns, the spirit stills like onions.
The Glenallachie distillery is relatively unknown, but with an annual production capacity of 2,800,000 liters of pure alcohol per year it's actually among the Top 30 whisky distilleries in Scotland, production-wise. However, if my source was correct they haven't used their stills at full capacity for some time; they annually put out less than 2 million liters of whisky.
Most of the output of Glenallachie still goes into Chivas' own blends like Clan Campbell, 100 Pipers, Highland Clan, House of Lords, Passport, Queen Anne and - of course - Chivas Regal. There have been two or three official bottlings over the years (like the 12 years old from the 1980's depicted at the right). Single malt bottlings of Glenallachie are very rare - and the vast majority of those were produced by independent bottlers. After 'a decade of heavy dramming' the malt maniacs had managed to find less than three dozen independent bottlings, most of them bottled by Signatory Vintage. There have been less than half a dozen bottlings that have been released by or through the owners, but those can hardly be considered official bottlings.
The last time I checked the Malt Maniacs Monitor, Cadenhead's had bottled only four expressions that we know of. Nevertheless, it might be worth the effort because those expressions of the Glenallachie single malt whisky were amongst the very best that were ever released. Other expressions to hunt down are a 31 years old bottled in 2002 by Douglas Laing and a bottling of Glenallachie single malt whisky by the Scotch Single Malt Circle in 2004 - cask number 6000 to be precise.
Let's see - is there anything else worth sharing about Glenallachie? Well, perhaps not about the single malt whisky bottlings; those are exceptions. Glenallachie is one of those distilleries which were built to produce 'industrial' malt whisky for use in blends like Clan Campbell.
However, Glenallachie has one feature that makes it interesting for whisky lovers with a 'green' heart. The Scotch whisky industry is not exactly environmentally friendly, but around 2009 Glenallachie made a step in the right direction. A 'membrane bioreactor' was installed at the distillery which enabled the distillery to release its waste water into the nearby Lour Burn without significant negative effects on the Scottish environment. By increasing the PH-value, the copper particles have less of a negative effect according to the Malt Whisky Yearbook.
In The New Millenium
- 2005 - The very first official bottling of Glenallachie is launched; a 16 years old expression from 1989. It is released at cask strength, which is fairly unusual for the only official bottling in the range. But then again, it doesn't seem like Glenallachie will ever develop a portfolio of OB's like its neighbours Aberlour or Macallan. The rare Glenallachie OB is for sale at the Chivas Regal visitor centre at Strathisla distillery.
Trivia:
- Glenallachie is one of three distilleries built by William Delme Evans. He also built the Isle of Jura and Tullibardine distilleries, founded in 1960 and 1949 respectively. Delme Evans owned part of those two distilleries (he was Managing Director at Jura) but this wasn't the case with Glenallachie.
- The 'designer' of the Glenallachie distillery was Lothian Barclay.
- Glenallachie distillery was closed and decommissioned in 1987, just 20 years after it was opened. However, Pernod Ricard bought it in 1989, doubled the number of stills to four and restarted production.
- The Glenallachie malt whisky is an important component of the 'Glen Campbell' and 'House of Lords' blends.
- The 'quality spread' among bottlings of the Glenallachie single malt whisky is quite large. They produced plenty of fairly unremarkable bottlings at the Glenallachie distillery, but a few of them (both young and old) reached scores in the upper 80's or even the lower 90's.
from Malt Madness
The Owner: Chivas Brothers
| Established: 1801 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Strathisla Distillery, Seafield Avenue, Keith, Banffshire, AB55 5BS, United Kingdom |
| → website |
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Chivas Brothers, owned by Pernod Ricard. According to the brand packaging, Chivas Brothers was first established in 1801 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Chivas brand"s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland. It is the market leading Scotch whisky aged 12 years and above in Europe and Asia Pacific. Chivas Regal sales have grown by 61% between 2002 and 2008.
In the early 1900s, Chivas Brothers decided to create their most aged blended Scotch whisky to export to the U.S, where the booming economy after the turn of the century was fueling demand for luxury goods. The whisky was named Chivas Regal.
Chivas Regal 25 Year Old was launched in 1909 as the original luxury Scotch, and became a leading brand in the U.S. Chivas Regal continued its success until prohibition in the 1920s.
In 1843, Chivas Brothers were granted a Royal Warrant to supply goods to Queen Victoria. Chivas Brothers was described in 1890 as "undoubtedly the finest purveying business in the north of Scotland" by "Scotland of Today" magazine.
During the 1850s, James Chivas decided to respond to his affluent customers" demands for a smoother whisky, by beginning to blend whiskies to create a proprietary blend to Chivas Brothers. Their first blended Scotch whisky named "Royal Glen Dee" was launched, followed in the 1860s by their second blended Scotch whisky, "Royal Strathythan".
The House of Schivas, a large mansion, was built at Schivas in Aberdeenshire in 1640. The name is derived from the Gaelic "seamhas", meaning narrow place.
Chivas Brothers traces its roots to the opening of a grocery store at 13 King St, Aberdeen in 1801. The store sold luxury foodstuffs such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to a wealthy clientele. In 1842, Chivas Brothers were retained to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria"s first visit to Scotland.
Chivas Regal was purchased by Seagrams in 1949, which provided a much wider distribution and marketing system.
Chivas Regal was re-launched as Chivas Regal 12 year old in the US following the disruption of both Prohibition and World War II. Chivas became a fashionable brand of the era, and became associated with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Chivas Regal was the Scotch whisky requested by Sinatra, along with other spirits brands backstage at performances, and Chivas sponsored Frank Sinatra"s Diamond Jubilee Tour in 1990.
The Strathisla distillery is owned by Chivas Brothers, and Strathisla Single Malt is one of the malt whiskies used within the Chivas Regal blend.
Strathisla Single Malts have a natural sweetness and help to define the taste of Chivas Regal.
In 1950, the company Chivas Brothers was able to buy the Strathisla Distillery which produces the Strathisla Single Malt, which is used within the Chivas Regal blend.
The Chivas Regal range was expanded with the launch of higher aged whiskies, in 1997 with the launch of Chivas Regal 18 year old, and in 2007 with the launch of Chivas Regal 25.
Chivas Regal was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2000 upon the break up of Seagrams Group.
The home of Chivas Regal and location of its visitor centre is located at the Strathisla distillery. The distillery was founded in 1786, and is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland - Strathisla Distillery, located in Speyside.
from Wikipedia
The Owner: Pernod Ricard
| Established: 1975 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 12, place des Etats-Unis, 75783 Paris Cedex-16, France |
| → website |
HELLO WORLD!!! Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of brands including: Chivas Regal, Glenlivet, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Seagram"s, Pernod absinthe, Absolut, Ricard pastis, Martell cognac, Jaconb"s Creek wine, pernod anise, Havana Club rum, Ballantine"s scotch, Kahlue, Malibu rum, Beefeater gun, Stolichnaya vodka, Mumm champagne and more.
Pernod Ricard came into existence when old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A.. Ricard was founded 1932 in Marseille by Paul Ricard. Pernod started with Henri-Louis Pernod who opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland in 1797, followed by Maison Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. In 1926 these distilleries merged with Distillerie Hernard in Paris to form Les Etablissements Pernod.
After the 1975 merger that formed the current company a series of buy-ins and takeovers began that continues until this day. In 1988 PR acquired Irish Distillers which includes Jameson Irish Whiskeys, in 1989 PR acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob"s Creek wine), in 2001 PR purchased 38% of Seagram"s Wines and Spirits, in 2005 PR purchased Allied Domecq and in 2008 PR bought V&S Group which includes the Absolut Vodka brand.
Reborn from the Pernod Fils company as a producer of anise liqueur following the ban on absinthe, it is now a worldwide conglomerate. It owns the alcoholic beverage division of the former Seagram corporation, among many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired British-based international competitor Allied Domecq plc.
In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced the acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group including Absolut Vodka.
Pernod Ricard (Euronext: RI) is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company"s most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.
from Wikipedia