The story of Glenfarclas is as rich and colourful as the whisky which bears its name. It is the story of one family, the Grants, who since 1865 have been united in creating a range of outstanding Speyside Single Malts. The company remains to this day in family hands with 5th generation John Grant the current Chairman.

The history of distilling at the Recherlich farm in Ballindalloch dates back well before 1836, when the distillery became legally established. At that time the tenant for the farm was Robert Hay. He moved in 1865, and John Grant a local cattle farmer took an interest as he was on the outlook for a staging post between the family farm in Glenlivet and the important nearby market in Elgin. So in 1865 John Grant acquired the tenancy for the Recherlich farm and as part of the transaction purchased the Glenfarclas Distillery for £511.19s. The cattle drovers would have been amongst the first to enjoy drams from the distillery and would have helped spread the reputation of Glenfarclas.

To produce Glenfarclas, literally ‘Glen of the Green Grassland’, three essential ingredients are required: pure spring water, malted barley and yeast. The distillery nestles at the foot of the 814 metre high Ben Rinnes mountain which rears up dramatically behind the distillery and it is from here that the melting snows of winter seep down through the peat, deep into the granite below rising up as pure, crystal clear spring water, soft and slightly acidic, ideal for making whisky.

Glenfarclas purchase barley grown in Scotland, often in the local area of Moray; prime barley growing country. The production processes used – steeping,germination, kilning, milling,

mashing, fermentation and distillation – are similar to those used for malt production elsewhere. The major distinguishing characteristics of Glenfarclas are the distillation and the subsequent ageing of the spirit. The distillation takes place twice in six traditional direct-fired copper pot stills, the largest on Speyside. Glenfarclas is matured in two types of cask:

1. Plain oak casks, which have been used to mature Bourbon and Scotch whisky.

2. Spanish sherry casks, which have matured Oloroso or Fino sherry and which come from a single producer in Seville whom John Grant visits annually to select the casks. With a capacity of 500 litres sherry butts are widely used at Glenfarclas.

Glenfarclas does not use any caramel to colour its whiskies and so the lustrous colours of the finished products are all the result of the cask maturation.

As well as the 10, 15, 21, 25, 30 years old and cask strength ‘105’, there are some individual vintage dated whiskies. In prospect there will be the release of single casks from every vintage from 1952-1994 beginning with the 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1989 – which when complete we believe will be the most comprehensive vertical range ever offered by a Single Malt producer.

Glenfarclas was voted Distiller of the Year at the 2006 Icons of Whisky dinner. The award now in its fourth year was organised by Whisky Magazine and the accolade was granted “for being consistently good and staying true to its core values”.