Balmenach-Glenlivet 1981-1993 - 12 Year Old - Cadenheads Miniature

Balmenach distillery was founded in Speyside in 1824. The distillery joined Diageo forerunner DCL’s portfolio in 1925 and was expanded to six stills in 1962. Balmenach was acquired in 1997 by Inver House Distillers, who are now owned by Thai Beverages plc. Balmenach is one of only a few distilleries still using worm tubs to condense their spirit and the resulting muscular, meaty whisky is in high demand from blenders.

Balmenach’s importance as a blending malt means official bottlings are thin on the ground. United Distillers bottled Balmenach 12-year-old for the Flora & Fauna series; Inver House released a handful of limited editions, the last of which was in 2002. Independent Balmenach is relatively common, with some classic old bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail, the SMWS, Signatory, Cadenhead’s and the Italian bottler Sestante among others.

In 1842 George Duncan established a wine merchant and distillery agency business in Aberdeen. Duncan was joined in the early 1850s by his brother-in-law William Cadenhead, who took over the business after Duncan’s death in 1858, changing the company’s name to Wm. Cadenhead. When Cadenhead died in 1904 the company passed to his nephew Robert Duthie, who developed the spirits side of the business.

Duthie died suddenly in 1931, and employee Ann Oliver was put in charge of Cadenhead’s. Sadly, Oliver’s tenure ended in financial difficulty and on her retirement in 1972 the business was forced to sell its entire inventory. Cadenhead’s was acquired soon afterwards by J & A Mitchell, proprietors of Springbank distillery, who relocated the business to Campbeltown. Cadenhead’s has flourished under Mitchell’s stewardship, releasing many legendary single malt bottlings in the 1980s and 1990s and now has outlets in Edinburgh and London as well as Campbeltown.