By Rick August & Shelley Whitehead
While touring Scotland recently we stopped to tour the GlenDronach Distillery in the tiny village of Forgue-by-Huntly in Aberdeenshire. This scotch whisky distillery (the name means “Valley of the Brambles”) was started in 1827 by an enterprising farmer, James Allardice. Legend has it that Allardice built his custom by carting a barrel to Edinburgh where he passed out free samples to the ‘ladies of the night’, who subsequently would request it by name from their publicans.
GlenDronach was once part of the Teachers distillery group, and since 2008 it has been owned, along with the BenRaich Distillery, by South African investors. Like all scotch distilleries, GlenDronach’s facility consists of a modest-sized production house and many large warehouses for wood-aging the product. GlenDronach’s current standing products are 12, 15 and 18 year old scotches.
A wing of the plant formerly used for floor malting is out of use, as the distillery now buys commercial unpeated malt. The malted barley is milled in a hundred year old roller mill before being mashed and fermented. The product at this stage, which is essentially an unhopped beer of about 7.5% alcohol by volume, is referred to as ‘wash’.
The wash is the basis for a two-stage distilling process. First distillation produces what is called low wines at about 27-35% ABV. The by-product, which is called pot ale, is sold as fertilizer or cattle feed. The second distillation produces spirits of about 70% ABV. Considerable care is needed in the distillation process to exclude unsafe or unpleasant-tasting portions of the distillate.
The main output of spirits is either sold in bulk to industrial users, or cut to 63.5% ABV and placed into barrels for ageing. The whisky is perfectly clear entering the barrel, acquiring all of its colour and much of its flavour from the wood, which will have previously been used to store and age various other wines or spirits. About 2% per year of whisky ageing in barrels is lost to evaporation (the ‘angels’ share’).
The GlenDronach standard tour, which is quite detailed and thorough, includes a tasting session. In addition to the three major products, we were also treated to a wee taste of a 33 year old whisky, sublime in both aroma and flavour. To the limited extent that it is available, the 33 year old whisky sells for about £200 a bottle.
There are about 3,500 scotch whisky distilleries in Scotland, and a drive down the Speyside Whisky Trail a few miles to the west takes you past world famous names like Cardhu, the Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and many more. Most offer tours, and some whisky keeners, apparently, like to tour as many as they can. Our single distillery stop at Glendronach, which consumed the better part of three hours, was a worthwhile and educational part of our quick tour through Scotland.
