Glenallachie

Introduction:

Sourcing official bottlings of Glenallachie Single Malt is challenging due to its focus on mass production for blending. The first official bottling, a 12-year-old expression, was released in the 1990s. Independent bottlings are scarce but exist, including a 13-year-old by Gordon & MacPhail and older casks bottled by Douglas Laing. Glenallachie’s spirit is predominantly used in blends such as Chivas Brothers Clan Campbell Blend, Chivas Regal, and House of Lords.

Production:

Glenallachie has an impressive production capacity of 3.2 million liters, mainly aimed at blending. The distillery utilizes water from the nearby springs of Ben Rinnes and employs horizontal tube condensers, a departure from the vertical ones commonly used in other distilleries.

Pot Stills:

Glenallachie features two wash stills with a capacity of 36,300 liters each and two spirit stills with a capacity of 23,900 liters each. Both the wash and spirit stills have a large, round shape with wide spherical lids and gently narrowing necks.

Maltings:

Glenallachie sources its maltings from a Chivas-owned industrial source in Banffshire, near the distillery’s location in Aberlour. The maltings used are unpeated.

Warehouse:

The distillery site houses fourteen warehouses, twelve of which are racked, while the remaining two are palletized. The majority of casks used are ex-Bourbon from America, with some Oloroso casks also employed.

History:

Established in 1967, Glenallachie is one of Scotland’s younger distilleries. Mackinlay McPherson Limited, a subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries Limited, built the distillery between 1967 and 1968. Invergordon Distilleries Group acquired the distillery in 1985 but closed it two years later. In 1989, Campbell Distillers, owned by Pernod Ricard, purchased Glenallachie and invested in reconstruction and expansion. The number of stills increased from two to four, raising the production capacity to its current level. Glenallachie thrived under Pernod’s ownership and became one of the region’s highest-producing distilleries. In 2005, a Cask Strength Edition from 1989 was released. Glenallachie remains primarily focused on industrial production and is associated with Clan Campbell Whisky under the Chivas Regal brand.

Visitor’s Centre:

There is no visitor’s centre at the distillery, and private tours are not available.

Visitor information:

The GlenAllachie Distillers Company Limited
The GlenAllachie Distillery
Aberlour
Banffshire
AB38 9LR