Glenfarclas distillery
Famous (or infamous) for being the preferred tipple of Margaret Thatcher and the cask that kickstarted the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Glenfarclas is a Speyside distillery known primarily for it’s almost exclusive use of Sherry casks. The distilleries bottles are also on occasion bottled as Blairfindy. Located at the foot of Ben Rinnes, the distillery was originally licensed in 1836 by Robert Hay, but in 1865 John Grant purchased the distillery for a fee of £511 and it has been owned and managed by 6 different generations of the Grant family since.
Glenfarclas factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenfarclas | glen*fark*lass | Speyside | Scotland | |
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Active | 1836 - Present | Malt | Glenfarclas | Tour Link |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| George Grant |
Glenfarclas Timeline:
1791: Evidence that the distillery first started operations sometime before 1791
1836: The farm distillery was purchased by Robert Hay
1865: John Grant purchased the distillery for a fee of £511
1895: Glenfarclas becomes part of the Glenfarclas-Glenlivet Distillery Co, jointly owned by the Grants and Pattison, Elder & Co
1898: The Pattison whisky crisis results in their bankruptcy the distillery is fully bought out by the Grants
1947: Glenfarclas became and private limited company
1960: Glenfarclas expands the distillery to 4 stills
1968: Glenfarclas becomes the first distilleries to release a cask strength malt
1972: The distilleries floor maltings are decommisioned
1973: Glenfarclas becomes one of the first distilleries to open a visitor centre
1976: Glenfarclas expands the distillery to 6 stills
Useful Glenfarclas links:
Interesting Glenfarclas links:
Can I tour Glenfarclas?
Yes Glenfarclas distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 305 of 358 tours to date. This gives Glenfarclas an overall rating of 5.0
Latest reviews
Great Tasting
by Alan N
Turned up on a drive round speyside , no booking but was still offered a lovely tasting of two incredible whiskies by Donna , she was fantastic and gave us some great information about this great facility , enjoyed it so much we bought a bottle . The tasting room is worth a visit on its own , go ,you will enjoy it
Informative, Fun, Excellent Tour
by Mobile47579024376
July 2021 visit was a free 1hr 30min actual distillery guided tour. Very informative guide (Kirsten - PhD student with a genuine interest in whisky). Easily heard all information despite mask wearing during the indoor parts of the tour. It all felt very COVID safe with participants (naturally!) standing socially distanced. Your included seeing many aspects of the whisky making process and into one of the cellars. The beautiful tasting room grand finale where you hear about the panels being bought from a sunken ship, was lovely. It was a free tour at this time and we received 2 nips with the driver getting one miniature to take away. Booked 2 days in advance via email with no problem.Highly recommend
Brilliant Tour
by Dave P
Fantastic visit Donnas Doric tour was really interesting and Calum’s hospitality capped the perfect whisky experience donation to local foodbank is a fabulous way to say thanksWe will be back The Torphichen Team
| Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 305 |
| Very good | 44 |
| Average | 4 |
| Poor | 3 |
| Terrible | 2 |
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