Glencadam 1985-2005 - 20 Year Old - Douglas Laing - Old & Rare Platinum Selection - Single Cask

Glencadam is a relatively small Highland distillery that often flies under the radar of many malt fans. Owned by Angus Dundee Distillers, who bought Glencadam from Allied Domecq in 2003, the distillery celebrated a momentous occasion in 2021 with the installation of a water-wheel to generate their electricity - the original distillery built in 1825 was equipped with a similar water-wheel that powered operations for almost 100 years.

In common with its stablemate, Tomintoul, the vast majority of Glencadam’s gentle Highland single malt goes into Angus Dundee’s many blended whiskies. Prior to the Angus Dundee takeover official bottlings of Glencadam were almost non-existent, but there is now a solid core range enhanced by frequent single cask and small batch editions. Independent Glencadams are plentiful, with older vintages from the usual suspects generally very good value, especially at auction.

Founded in the late 1940s by Fred Douglas Laing Sr, the Douglas Laing company spent decades as whisky blenders and exporters before Fred Laing’s sons Stewart and Fred Jr introduced the highly influential Old Malt Cask single malt range in 1998. The McGibbon’s Provenance and Old & Rare Platinum series followed soon afterwards, establishing Douglas Laing as one of Scotland’s finest independent bottlers.

In 2013 Stewart Laing left the business, taking Old Malt Cask and Old & Rare to his new company Hunter Laing, while Fred Laing Jr was joined by his daughter Cara and her husband Chris Leggatt from Morrison Bowmore, who left the business in 2023. The Old Particular and Extra Old Particular ranges were introduced to replace Old Malt Cask and Old & Rare, and the company has since moved into distilling with the purchase of Strathearn distillery in 2019 and the construction of Clutha distillery in Glasgow.