| Glen Garioch distillery | |
| Type: | Highland |
| Image Size: | 250 |
| Location: | Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Owner: | Suntory Global Spirits |
| Founded: | 1797 |
| Status: | Operational |
| Source: | The Silent Spring of Coutens Farm |
| Stills: | 2 wash (20,000 + 10,000 L) 2 spirit (11,000 L)[1] |
| Capacity: | 1,000,000 L |
| Brand 1: | Glen Garioch Highland Single Malt |
Glen Garioch distillery (pronounced "Geery" in the Doric dialect of Aberdeen) is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is one of the oldest whisky distilleries in Scotland, dating back to 1797.
It is operated by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, which is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.
The location chosen by John & Alexander Manson for their malt whisky distillery in 1797 was an obvious one. Oldmeldrum in the celebrated 'Valley of the Garioch' was named "The Granary of Aberdeenshire", famous for producing the finest barley in all of Scotland.[2]
The distillery, which originally incorporated a brewery and tannery, stands on the very edge of the town Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire.
In 1968 the production of Glen Garioch was suspended on account of 'chronic water shortages'; however, in 1972 a manager was appointed with a brief to find another water source. A spring was discovered on a neighbouring farm. It came to be called ‘The Silent Spring’ as it could neither be seen nor heard.[3]
in 1983, Glen Garioch distillery was closed for a brief period.[4]
In 1990, after years of reduced production, the distillery was purchased by The Morrison Bowmore Distillery Ltd., which was part of the Japanese Suntory group. The new owners restored the distillery and began producing whisky again under the Glen Garioch name.
In 1995, Glen Garioch was mothballed but reopened in 1997.[5]
Leading with the 1797 Founder’s Reserve at the heart of the range, Glen Garioch will periodically release hand selected individual batches of stock. Launched as ‘Single Batch Releases’, the first will be the Glen Garioch 1990 Vintage and the Glen Garioch 1978 Vintage which will join the 1797 Founder’s Reserve.[6]
Current Glen Garioch range: