Convalmore 1977-1998 - 21 Year Old - Cadenheads Authentic Collection - Single Cask

Convalmore is one of the greatest lost Speyside distilleries of modern times. The distillery was founded in 1893, and was part of the Buchanan’s stable when the latter joined Distillers Company Limited in 1925, with much of its operational life spent producing whisky for the Black & White blend. Convalmore was expanded in the 1960s before being mothballed by DCL in 1985 and sold to neighbours William Grant & Sons, whose Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries adjoin the Convalmore site.

Almost unknown during its operational lifetime, Convalmore’s deliciously old school waxy, fruity malt whisky was championed in the 1980s by indie bottlers including Gordon & MacPhail and Cadenhead’s.  Convalmore’s first ever official bottling was a superb Rare Malts Edition in 2003, almost twenty years after the distillery had closed its doors, and subsequent Diageo Special Release Convalmores in 2005, 2013 and 2017 also met with universal acclaim.

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.