Glen Keith 1995-2013 - The Pearls Of Scotland - Single Cask 171224

Glen Keith is a large Speyside distillery that maintains an extremely low profile. The distillery was founded in 1957 by Seagram’s and was experimental from the start: triple distillation was practised until the 1980s, and Glen Keith also experimented with gas-fired direct heating, Saladin box maltings and distilling with peated water in the 1970s. Some of these experimental spirits were bottled later as Craigduff and Glenisla by Signatory Vintage.

The main business of Glen Keith, though, was always to supply high quality Speyside malt for Seagram’s blends, particularly 100 Pipers. Mothballed in 1999, Glen Keith remained silent until being revived in 2013 after extensive refurbishment by Pernod Ricard, who had taken over Seagram’s Chivas Brothers portfolio in 2001. At auction, independent bottlers are a safer bet than the generally mundane Seagram-era official bottlings, with some outstanding fruity, waxy vintages from the 1960s and 1970s highly sought after.