Glenfarclas

History of Glenfarclas whisky distillery

 Glenfarclas distillery in Ballindalloch, in the Speyside region of Scotland. Glenfarclas translates as meaning "valley of the green grass". There is evidence that the distillery first started operations sometime before 1791. The distillery was first granted a licence in 1836 when it was run by Robert Hay. On 8 June 1865 it was bought by John Grant and is still owned and run by his descendants, making it truly independent.

John Grant sent his son George G. Grant to run the operations at Glenfarclas. In 1890, on the death of George G. Grant, his widow Elsie took over the licence for the distillery.

At some time over the following years, Elsie handed active management of the Distillery to her sons John and George. The Grants formed a partnership with Pattisons Ltd in August 1896 at the height of the whisky boom. After the crash that followed, the Grants resumed full ownership of the distillery. John retired due to ill health in 1913 and George became sole proprietor. In 1947 Glenfarclas became a private limited company, owned by George's sons, George S. Grant and John P. Grant. John L.S. Grant, who joined Glenfarclas in 1973, is the current Chairman. His son George S. Grant is Director of Sales. 

The distillery has six stills which are the largest on Speyside and are heated directly by gas burners. The distillery has a production capacity of around 3.5 million litres of spirit per year. Normally four stills are used for production with two kept in reserve. The distillery has approximately 68,000 casks maturing on site, in traditional dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year from 1953 to the current year. Glenfarclas produce a traditional Highland malt with a heavy sherry influence.

Whisky from Glenfarclas

Glenfarclas have a range of core age statements and non age statements as well as a range of single cask releases known as the "Family Casks".  

Glenfarclas distillery style is quintessentially Speyside, with a whisky that is rich and fruity, with a luscious mouthfeel and sherry maturation showcased beautifully.  But, despite this strong house style, interesting differences can be picked out between individual casks, which make single cask bottlings an exciting treat.

Buy a cask of Glenfarclas whisky

The Single Cask has some great Glenfarclas casks in our warehouses.  If you're interested in buying a cask of Glenfarclas, please contact us today for a free, no obligation quote.  We can also offer a range of bottling services, making the whole process of creating your very own whisky easy.

Sell a cask of Glenfarclas whisky

The Single Cask has a great history of buying and bottling single cask Glenfarclas whisky.  Often we buy our casks direct from the distillery, but we are also pleased to buy Glenfarclas casks from private individuals.  If you have a Glenfarclas cask that you're looking to sell, please contact us today for a free, no obligation, quote on how much we could pay you for your cask.

Speyside Region

Although, Speyside was not accepted as an official whisky region it is now generally approved as a subdivision of the Highlands Region. Over half of all Scotland's distilleries are located in here which makes it the most densely populated whisky region in the world. Many of the most popular single malts are produced in Speyside also the malts here are typically said to be the sweetest of all scotch whisky malts. Their whiskies are known for being frugal with peat and full of fruit. Pear, apple, vanilla, honey and spice all have a part a role in expressions from this region, which are commonly matured in sherry casks.