The Story of Glen Garioch
Glen Garioch was founded in 1797 in Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, by local farmers known as the Manson Brothers. The distillery operated under the ownership of the Manson family for decades, passing from one generation to the next. By 1844, one John Manson was at the helm. Living at the distillery was John’s son, Patrick who would go on to make a very significant contribution to the world of science and in particular, medicine. Known as ‘Mosquito’ Manson, Patrick was posted to Taiwan, following his graduation from Aberdeen. There his work would find proof that there was a connection between infectious diseases and the bite of the mosquito!
The Manson family eventually sold Glen Garioch in 1908 and the years that followed saw regular changes in ownership. It was eventually acquired in 1937 by DCL, a forerunner of Diageo but by 1968 DCL was looking to make cutbacks. It was decided that Brora distillery in Sutherland was more than capable of meeting the company’s need for peated Highland spirit and that left Glen Garioch very much surplus to requirements. That decision was made easier thanks to the distillery’s long-running issues with an unreliable water source.
That problem was finally addressed when Glen Garioch was bought by Stanley P Morrison (of Morrison Bowmore) in 1970. Morrison employed a water diviner to locate a new source, which was finally achieved in 1972. The distillery returned to full production and so it continued until Japanese distillers Suntory bought the parent company and mothballed Glen Garioch again, in 1995.
You can’t keep a good distillery down, however, and Glen Garioch would return in 1997, this time producing an unpeated spirit. A new single malt range launched in 2009 with a modern look and a core range consisting of the 1797 Founders Reserve, 12-year-old and Virgin Oak expressions.
The Whisky
Smell: Floral, heather honey nose with malty biscuit and bready notes. A touch of Toffee. Perhaps a little dark chocolate and coffee as well.
Taste: Caramel, honey. Chocolate digestive biscuits. Orange and a touch of spice.
Thoughts: Good value dram at £40 a bottle. Especially considering the high abv of 48%. I’ve been quite impressed with the official bottlings of Glen Garioch that I’ve come across and this one is no different. For the price being asked, it offers a satisfying mouthful with a lovely touch of warming spice that I find very appealing. It also seems to proudly showcase the character of the malt that made it. In other words, the spirit character comes through clearly. Garioch isn’t one of the better known Glens, but maybe it should be.
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