Glenfiddich 21 Year Old - Centenary Wedgwood Decanter 1987

Glenfiddich distillery was built in 1886 by William Grant and is still owned by his family descendants today. Glenfiddich played a major role in the history of Scotch whisky, as the first distillery to commercialise its own official bottlings of single malt whisky in the early 1960s. This move was to shape the industry up to the present day, and Glenfiddich has remained the world’s best-selling single malt whisky. 

It’s unlikely William Grant would recognise Glenfiddich today: as of the 2020 reconstruction the distillery now has a remarkable 43 stills making over 20 million litres of alcohol per annum. The core range official bottlings are frequently augmented by small batch limited editions; independent bottlings are almost non-existent. The exceptionally rare 1937 vintage released in 2001 is probably the most sought-after Glenfiddich, though early and/or long-aged vintage expressions also do well at auction.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.