Gaelic for “valley of the green grass”, Glenfarclas is one of the Spey Valley’s best-known distilleries. Whenever the words “family” and “independence” come up in conversations around Scotch, it is almost always cited as the prime example. This spirit of independence has been developed over time, with the Pattison Crisis of 1898 marking a key factor in its instigation.
Early days, and sudden disappointment
On 8 June 1865, John Grant (1805-1889) bought the Glenfarclas and Rechlerich Farm from associates of Robert Hay. John rented the distillery to a distant cousin, John G. Smith, who eventually left to found Cragganmore in 1870. Following his departure, John Grant then teamed up with his son George (1830-1890), who initially ran the farm and later joined him in managing the distillery.
Under George Grant’s leadership, the distillery developed in a period of extreme growth for the Scotch whisky industry. Unlike many of its peers, however, Glenfarclas remained a very traditional distillery without any grand plans for expansion, keeping to selling modest quantities of whisky to local customers and blenders. Not that the distillery had no ambitions to develop, these were simply more modest.
George died in 1890, a year after his father John, leaving the distillation licence to his widow Elsie. Elsie handed over the distillery’s management to her two sons John (1873-1949) and George (1874-1949). If the late George Grant came into the business in a period of growth, it was nothing compared to the one experienced by his sons in the early 1890s. The decade saw no less than 37 new distilleries opened!
For John and George, the 1890s started with a bang. In August 1896, for the only time in the distillery’s history, they teamed up with the Pattison brothers, two renowned blenders at the time, and founded the Glenfarclas-Glenlivet Distillery Co. The Grant and Pattison brothers respectively held 50% shares in the new business.
The Pattison brothers—first names Robert and Walter—had begun blending whiskies in 1887. Their business had seen exponential growth, garnering unchecked confidence from banks and leading some distilleries to even sell them their whisky on credit. This prosperity, however, was about to come to an abrupt end. The brothers’ desire for ever-increasing growth had led them to produce increasingly less-high-quality blends, resulting in a gradual decline in sales. On 6 December 1898, the fatal blow was dealt and the Pattison brothers finally declared bankruptcy.
Their business partners John and George bore the brunt of the crisis. A long-standing client of Glenfarclas, the Caledonian Bank was nonetheless understanding of the distillery’s position. In return for a mortgage on the farm and its stocks, Glenfarclas was given the chance to get back on its feet. By 2 May 1905, the 50% shares in Glenfarclas-Glenlivet temporarily held by the liquidator for the Pattison brothers were returned to the Grant family. 18 months later, the mortgage was definitively brought to an end. The crisis would nonetheless leave deep scars on the world of Scotch whisky. It had to wait until 1949 for a new distillery—Tullibardine—to be built.
Independence, and the future
The start of the 20th century was hard for the entire industry, with a constant rise in taxes from 1909 on, the First World War, Prohibition in the United States, a gradual decline in the number of blenders in the 1930s, and the Second World War. This period saw John Grant withdraw from the distillery’s day-to-day running in 1920 for health reasons. George was left to run the distillery alone. The following year he married Jessie Stuart Scott, with whom he had two children, George Scott Grant and John Peter Grant.
But it was during this time that two key decisions in Glenfarclas’ history were made that would help cement the Grant family’s independence. In 1930, instead of renewing the lease on the land where the distillery and Rechlerich farm were located, John Grant bought the property deed from Sir George Macpherson-Grant, as well as those of two neighbouring farms. The Grant family became land-owners.
Then, on 30 May 1947, John and George Grant founded their own business, J. & G. Grant Company. Without any external investment, of course. And so the famous “Spirit of Independence” slogan was born. After the Pattison brothers declared bankruptcy, the Grant brothers swore never again to trust anyone else for the ownership or management of their activities. Ever since, Glenfarclas has systematically declined all partnership proposals and buyout offers.
George S Grant took over at the distillery’s helm in 1950. His first years running the distillery were during a period of growth. In the 1950s, a large number of distilleries were revived and whisky production would significantly increase to meet demand from blenders.
This growth then gradually faded out. In the late 1960s, demand for whisky declined and Glenfarclas lost an important blending contract with one of its largest clients, Distillers Company Limited (DCL). George S Grant saw an opportunity and decided to refocus production on single malt bottlings under the distillery’s own label, astutely anticipating increasing demand for this category from consumers. It was a decision that made George S Grant a true visionary. Today, Glenfarclas owns an immense stock of some 52,000 casks, including a significant share from the 1960s.
George S Grant remained the distillery’s chairman for 52 years, until the year of his death in 2002. Despite the many difficulties experienced by the distillery under his leadership (the inflation provoked by the 1973 oil crisis, the 1983 Whisky Loch, the Gulf War and a drop in demand from blenders in the early 1990s), he remained true to his philosophy of promoting Glenfarclas’ single malt first and foremost. Grant even established a joint venture with Peter J Russel & Co for the purchase and management of Broxburn Bottlers Limited in order to secure complete control over Glenfarclas’ bottling line.
Reflections of a vision
Considered by many Scotch lovers to be one of the country’s finest single malts, Glenfarclas is a whisky deeply linked to the passing of time, the spirit of independence and its celebration. All of this is symbolized by the Family Casks collection. And yet it would be reductive to limit Glenfarclas’ iconic bottlings to this collection alone.
Glenfarclas began exporting its single malt in the 1960s, first to Switzerland, the United States and West Germany. Then, when today’s chairman John LS Grant joined the distillery in 1974, he was tasked with finding new distributors and moving into new markets.
Glenfarclas 25 Year Old 1979 Pinerolo Import 43%
It would be impossible to talk about Glenfarclas without mentioning the impressive age of its single malts. The first bottling we will look at here is a magnificent 25 year old bottled in 1979 and imported to Italy by Pinerolo. It is a single malt that offers a superb reflection of the period of growth beginning under George S Grant’s leadership in 1950.
Colour: deep amber.
Nose: rich yet fresh. Parallels with sherry are never far away. Waxy and spicy (clove) aromas lead into beautiful grape notes and a wonderful minerality. A metallic sequence highlights the stunning patina afforded by the OBE.
Palate: lots of body and above all very complex. Fresh (thyme, oregano), hot (pepper, nutmeg, mustard) and very rich (bramble and raspberry jam, hazelnut), the palate explores the world of Glenfarclas with incredible precision. The slightly smoky and roasted end of the palate is worthy of its place among the greatest sherry casks.
Finish: yet more facets revealed. Notes of black tea at the start of the finish draw out the smoky aspect revealed at the end of the finish while adding unprecedented bitterness. This then develops into dark chocolate, before tobacco notes add a lovely dryness. Curry appears in the after-taste. Quite simply incredible.
Glenfarclas 1960 The Family Casks 52.4%
In 2007, John LS Grant launched the very first version of Glenfarclas Family Casks, bottling one cask per vintage, from 1952 to 1994. True heritage in a bottle. An authentic compendium of the distillery’s independence and growth, the bottlings in this first series are now extremely sought after by collectors around the world.
These expressions of Glenfarclas demonstrate two things: firstly, that it is one of the few distilleries to have such a considerable stock of very old spirit, and secondly its incredible mastery of sherry cask ageing, from first-fill to fourth-fill barrels and hogsheads, without ever betraying its style (a handful of port pipes exist, but these are few and far between).
Vintage releases, these Glenfarclas Family Casks are a great way to immortalize celebratory events, anniversaries, birthdays and important dates. To end this article, we will look at one of the finest examples, a 46 year old sherry hogshead bottled for the first series of the collection.
Colour: mahogany.
Nose: a concentration worthy of a great rum. The first nose features an ensemble of orange notes, mango and coconut that are quickly joined by lovely herbaceous aromas. The freshness and explosivity is mind-blowing for such an old bottling. The second nose reveals a noble and delicate wood.
Palate: takes us to the world of whisky. The warm palate is first spicy (pepper), then animal (cured meat, roast pork), before freshness returns on the mid-palate in the form of aromatic plants and mango notes. A very subtle wisp of cigar smoke envelops the end of the palate. Allowed to breathe, the malt reveals a lovely salty aspect.
Finish: the rich start of the finish is at once smoky, exotic and floral. A handful of oriental spices brings both vigour and serenity. Lingering on, the finish becomes rich (chocolate cake, vanilla and rum cannelé cake). Finally, the chocolate register definitively takes over with a very bitter dark chocolate. Iconoclastic and yet oh-so Glenfarclas.
