UNSUNG HERO
Glen Elgin
Gavin D Smith continues his tour around Speyside to sing the praises of some of the region’s less celebrated distilleries. This month, he pays a visit to the unsung hero Glen Elgin
PHOTOS: PETER MOSER, FRIENDS OF SINGLE MALT
Pictured: Millbuies loch near Glen Elgin distillery in the hamlet of Fogwatt on Speyside
ABOVE: A close up view of some of the pipework in Glen Elgin distillery
Following the A941 between Craigellachie and Elgin, it is impossible to forget this is true ‘Whisky Country’. The journey through the heart of Speyside only takes 20 minutes by car, yet there are a dozen active distilleries within close proximity of the road. Some, like Benriach, stand right beside it, while others are more discreetly located tantalisingly just out of sight.
One such distillery is Glen Elgin, hidden away to the east of the road in the hamlet of Fogwatt. Glen Elgin is another Diageo-owned Speyside distillery which keeps itself to itself, in the manner of Glenlossie and Dailuaine, with no public admission and only one ‘house’ bottling – in this case, a 12-year-old.
As with Glenlossie and Dailuaine, blending is the name of the game at Glen Elgin, and the distillery has enjoyed a long association with the White Horse brand. As a single malt, the late whisky writer Michael Jackson declared that Glen Elgin “…has a small, but passionate, fan base and there are plenty who believe its whisky deserves more prominence...”
The distillery was founded at a pivotal moment in the history of Scotch whisky – just at the point where Victorian ‘boom’ began to turn to ‘bust’. Construction began in 1898 for banker James Carle and former Glenfarclas manager William Simpson, who invested £13,000 in the project. Unfortunately, their timing could hardly have been worse, since the distillery began production in May 1900, just as the whisky industry fell into recession. The collapse was precipitated by the failure of the distilling and blending company Pattisons Ltd, amid a vast oversupply of spirit.
At the time of Glen Elgin’s construction, architect Charles Doig predicted that no new distillery would be built on Speyside for half a century, and his words were to prove remarkably prophetic. The next to be created was Glen Keith, which was developed during 1957/58.
Glen Elgin operated for a mere five months before closing, and was subsequently sold at auction for £4,000 in 1901 to the Glen Elgin-Glenlivet Distillery Co Ltd. The ‘Glenlivet’ hyphenation continued to be used for many years, in common with other distilleries that were located some miles from that famous valley.
After a very short period of operation, Glen Elgin closed once again, and in 1906 it was acquired by the wine merchant and whisky blender JJ Blanche & Co for £7,000, giving its existing owners a pleasing profit on their investment. After Mr Blanche died in 1929, Glen Elgin was again sold, this time to the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) subsidiary Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD).
PICTURED: Glen Elgin’s complement of stills was increased from two to six after the Second World War
ABOVE: Production began at Glen Elgin in May 1900, just as the whisky industry fell into recession, and only operated for five months before closing
DCL bought up many Scotch whisky assets during the inter-war years when rival firms struggled to survive. This may be seen as opportunistic, but by closing a considerable number of its unprofitable new acquisitions, DCL did help create a leaner whisky industry, more suited to the challenges of the times.
Glen Elgin was not an asset to be set aside, however, and licensed to the DCL subsidiary White Horse Distillers Ltd, it rapidly proved its worth as a blending malt of the highest quality.
Just as Glenlossie and Dailuaine saw their capacities increased as the post-Second World War US boom in Scotch sales led to distillery expansions, so Glen Elgin’s complement of stills was increased from two to six. At the same time, the mash house, tun room and still house were all rebuilt, giving Glen Elgin a 1960s façade in DCL’s prevailing house style, also to be seen at the likes of Aberfeldy, Craigellachie and Glen Ord. The distillery was silent between 1992 and 1995 while further upgrading work was carried out and new stills were installed.
Craig Wallace, Diageo’s master blender, says: “Glen Elgin is critical to many Diageo blends. Its fruity notes bring unique characteristics to Johnnie Walker, White Horse and Black & White, as well as more luxurious blends like Johnnie Walker Black Label, Buchanan’s and Old Parr.
“Innovation is at the heart of Glen Elgin, with several yeast and distillation trials carried out to intensify and diversify the fruity style from its core citrus notes (mainly limes) to various pineapple, apple crumb and Granny Smith apple notes.”
The core Glen Elgin style is achieved by producing clear wort in the 8.4 tonnes Steinecker full lauter mash tun, undertaking 90-hour fermentations in the nine larch washbacks, and distilling slowly in the six relatively small stills. Finally, condensing takes place in six wooden worm tubs, which adds a depth and complexity to the otherwise quite light and very fruity spirit. Twelve mashes are produced when working a five-day week and 16 during a seven-day week.
In 2023/24, Glen Elgin was silent for some months, while a major refurbishment project was undertaken. Two stills, two washbacks and four of the six worm tubs were replaced, while new warehouse roofs were fitted and operator facilities within the distillery were upgraded to future-proof the site for many productive years to come.
You can take a White Horse anywhere…
So ran the strapline on 1960s and early 1970s aspirational glossy magazine adverts for the brand, with a real-life equine shown attending a garden party, drinking in a bar, and even watching a beautiful young lady take a bath. Well, it was the 1970s.
The blend takes its name from the former White Horse Cellar Inn, off Edinburgh’s Canongate, and it was created in 1890 by Peter Mackie, one of the most fascinating of the ‘Whisky Barons’ who made blended Scotch a drink for the world. Once a leading brand in the UK, the principal markets for White Horse today are Brazil and Japan.
The Mackie family owned Lagavulin distillery, and the Islay malt and Glen Elgin have been celebrated as mainstays of White Horse for the best part of a century. Glen Elgin 12-year-old ‘Pure Highland Malt’ featured a prominent image of a white horse on its black and gold label.