Inchgower

Introduction:

Inchgower distillery, located in Speyside, has limited official bottlings available, making them highly sought – after by collectors. The distillery offers only three official bottlings: a 14 – year – old release as part of the Flora & Fauna range and two bottlings as part of the Rare Malts Collection, including a 22 – year – old and a 27 – year – old. Independent bottlings, on the other hand, are more abundant and come from various bottlers such as Hunter Laing, Gordon & MacPhail, and Douglas Laing, providing a wide range of options in terms of age and vintage.

Most of the single malt produced at Inchgower is used in blending, with only 1% sold as single malt. The distillery played a significant role in the blends of Bell’s, Johnnie Walker, and White Horse due to its ownership by the Bell’s family for a considerable period.

Production:

Inchgower sources its water from a nearby burn in the Menduff Hills, making its spirit technically classified as a ‘Lower Speyside Malt’. The distillery has a production capacity of nearly 3 million liters.

Pot Stills:

The distillery operates four pot stills: two wash stills and two spirit stills. These stills have a distinctive ‘pear’ shape with wide spherical lids and tall, conical necks. The flat tops of the stills result in a slightly higher degree of reflux compared to the more common ‘Speyside’-style stills. The wash stills have a capacity of 12,500 liters, while the spirit stills hold slightly less at 7,200 liters.

Maltings:

In the past, Inchgower was fairly self-sufficient, even having its own cooperage. However, it now sources its malt from a Diageo-owned malting facility in Burghead. The malt used is unpeated.

Warehouse:

Despite its relatively small scale, Inchgower has an impressive warehouse facility with 13 on-site dunnage and racked warehouses capable of housing up to 60,000 casks. Sherry and American oak casks are used for maturation, with Sherry casks being more commonly used. Interestingly, the majority of the stored spirit is not Inchgower Single Malt but serves as storage for other distilleries, which is unusual.

History:

Inchgower distillery was established in 1871 by Alexander Wilson & Company, replacing the Tochineal distillery. The original equipment from Tochineal was used in its construction. The distillery faced difficulties and went into liquidation in 1936, eventually being purchased by Inchgower Town Council, who sold it to Arthur Bell & Sons. Arthur Bell & Sons made significant modernizations, including increasing the number of stills to four and doubling the capacity. Guinness acquired Arthur Bell & Sons, and in 1987, Guinness merged with United Distillers and Vintners. Diageo, the industry giant, later acquired Guinness, thus gaining ownership of Inchgower. In 2006, Diageo closed Inchgower for a year for a major refurbishment, including the installation of a ‘closed yeast pitching system’ for better control over whisky style.

Visitor’s Centre:

Unfortunately, the Inchgower distillery is not open to the public.

Visitor information:

Inchgower Distillery
Buckie
AB56 5AB
Tel: +44 (0)1542-836700