In 1842, wine and spirits merchant George Duncan founded William Cadenhead Ltd in the port town of Aberdeen in north-west Scotland. His brother-in-law William Cadenhead then joined the company and, when George Duncan died in 1858, took over and renamed the business after himself, as was custom at the time. Although we know very little about George Duncan, there is a wealth of information on William Cadenhead.
William Cadenhead, merchant and poet
Born in 1819, William Cadenhead began working at a very young age in a small textile factory in Aberdeen owned by Jonny Garrow. Garrow was fond of his young employee and invited his protégé to come and work with him in a business in Liverpool when the factory in Aberdeen closed. In 1853, Cadenhead returned to Aberdeen, joined George Duncan and travelled to develop the family business until 1858. Not only was Cadenhead a talented merchant and respected citizen, but he also made a name for himself as a poet. A collection of his poems titled Ingatherings was published posthumously in 1905.
The Robert W. Duthie era
At the end of 1904, William Cadenhead’s death led his nephew Robert W. Duthie to take over at the head of the business, specializing in bottlings of Scotch whisky and Demerara rum. The new director also continued to develop the blends owned by Cadenhead, such as Putachieside and The Hielanman. The 1929 Crash, however, triggered The Great Depression and William Cadenhead Ltd found itself in financial difficulty. The death of Robert W. Duthie in a tram accident further complicated matters and the business ended up in the hands of his sisters, who were not specialists in the sale of wine and spirits.
Auction sales and the J. & A. Mitchell and Co. era
It was then Ann Oliver, a long-standing employee, who took over managing the family business. Her approach to running the business was unconventional and, despite a promising start, she ran into difficulties in the 1960s due to her risky management practices. Oliver’s unfortunate strategic decisions led to an auction at Christie’s in 1972 to feed the company kitty. The auction went down in history as the largest sale of wine and spirits ever seen in Great Britain.
William Cadenhead Ltd was then sold to the Springbank distillery’s owner J. & A. Mitchell and Co. Hedley G. Wright, a direct descendent of Archibald and John Mitchell, became William Cadenhead Ltd’s CEO. In the early 1970s, a glass bottle shortage created serious problems for the whisky industry. This was another reason Hedly G. Wright saw the purchase of Cadenhead as a strategic investment. In addition to a renowned business, J. & A. Mitchell and Co would have access to a significant stock of bottles. After the acquisition, however, the bottles failed to arrive, and no-one knows what became of them.
The Black Label Dumpy Bottles and Hedley G. Wright’s legacy
In the past, Cadenhead had mainly sold its own brands, such as Putachieside, The Hielanman, Seven Stars and Green Label rums. Under Hedley G. Wright, the company began specializing in single malts. This led to the creation of the legendary collection of Dumpy Bottles in 1977. This series of single malts stood out for its very gentle filtration, lack of artificial colouring, and relatively high bottling strength for the time (80 proof/45.7% ABV). Malts were bottled at cask strength only for versions released between 1989 and 1991, the last years of the series. The labels included lots of information, including the month and year of distillation and bottling, and whether or not sherry casks were used. Interestingly, there were as many fonts used on the labels as there were distilleries in Scotland at the time! These ranged from Celtic to Gothic and retrofuturist. The series is estimated to contain some 400 bottlings, all highly sought after by collectors today.
Also in 1977, the business moved to another address in Aberdeen, and finally to Campbeltown. The goal was to centralize J. & A. Mitchell and Co’s various activities and revive Campbeltown’s reputation as a key region for Scotch whisky production.
Cadenhead also sold casks to legendary bottlers such as Samaroli and Corti Brothers in the 1980s via its subsidiary Duthie’s. Many iconic whiskies have been selected from Cadenhead, including Clynelish 21 Year Old 86 Us Proof 1965-1986 by Corti Brothers, and Glen Garioch Coilltean 1975-1987, 57% by Samaroli.
A pioneering bottler in the world of rum, Demerara rum in particular, Cadenhead’s history is littered with rums from Guyana distilled in the 1960s and 1970s. There is even a version from 1939! As well as bottling rums at a time when few people were interested in them, Cadenhead also shared never-before-seen information on the labels, such as the famous ‘marks’. Although this is common practice today, it was much less so in the 1990s.
Finally, two new whisky ranges were created in 1991 and 1992, the Original Collection bottled at 46% and the Authentic Collection bottled at cask strength. Other special series to mark Cadenhead’s major anniversaries (150 and 175 years), as well as new ranges launched since (Small Batch, World Whiskies, etc.), have made Cadenhead and Hedley G. Wright a leading name in the world of Scotch whisky.
The Glenlivet 19 Year Old 80 proof 26 2/3 Fl Oz Cadenhead Dumpy bottle
The Glenlivet 19 Year Old tasted here is part of the famous Dumpy Bottle series. In fact, it was one of the very first to be released in the collection and distilled in the second half of the 1950s.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Opens with notes of sweet pastries (custard) and dried fruit (Agen prune, date). The dusty aspect of whiskies that have spent a long time in bottle is also there. This is an old style, pure sherry bottling, with notes of leather, tobacco and a hint of pine resin. Finally, beautiful notes of candied lemon help maintain acidity and freshness.
Palate: Fairly vigorous. Candied orange opens proceedings, followed by raisin and plum. At times, it is like tasting a very old Armagnac. Dark chocolate coupled with earthy notes brings depth and beautiful bitterness. Finally, a combination of dried fig, honey and clove form an incredibly rich end to the palate.
Finish: Tobacco again, with very beautiful spices (white pepper, ginger, saffron). Leather and wax finish the ensemble, before superb liquorice notes bring the tasting to a close.
