Glen Keith 1968-2002 - 34 Year Old - SMWS 81.3

INFORMATION

Glen Keith 1968 - 2002. 34 Year Old. Bottled by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Society cask number 81.3. 70cl. 58.3%. 102.0 Proof.

An old bottle of 1968 Glen Keith bottled as a 34-year-old by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society back in 2002 at its remarkable full cask strength of 58.3% (102 UK Imperial Proof). Glen Keith was founded in 1957 so this is from relatively early in the distillery’s life; it was only the third Glen Keith release by SMWS and is very rarely seen at auction.

DISTILLERY:Glen Keith

DISTILLERY STATUS:Working

Bottle ABV:58.3% / 102.0 Proof

Bottle SIZE:70cl / 700ml

BOTTLER:The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

SPIRIT TYPE:Scotland

LIMITED EDITION:yes

CASK NUMBER:81.3

CASK TYPE:Single Malt

REGION:Speyside

DISTILLED YEAR:1968

BOTTLING DATE::2002

AGE:34

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.