Glen Keith

glen-keith-distillery

  • Founded: 1957
  • Status: Operational
  • Region: Speyside, Scotland – Keith, Banffshire AB55 3BU +44(0)1542 783042
  • Online: n/a
glen-keith-distillery-edition-whisky

History Glen Keith is a modern distillery. When it opened in 1958, it was the first new distillery to open in Speyside since the great whisky crash of 1898. It therefore contrasts markedly with Strathisla – the oldest in Scotland. Construction started in 1957 on the site of a meal-mill and was completed in 1960, initially with three stills with the intention of triple distillation. In 1970, two more stills were added when production was switched to double distillation. The new production method incorporated the novelty of the first gas-fired stills in Scotland. Three years later, steam coils were also installed. The output of the distillery was originally used in blends such as Chivas Regal, Passport and 100 Pipers but Chivas Brothers also used it as a laboratory for experiments with innovations in production and processing, for example developing their own strains of yeast. In the 1990s the distillery released an official bottling under the name Glen Keith 1983. This bottling was replaced a few years later by a 10-year-old single malt. It also produced two peated malts under the names Glenisla and Craigduff. The Glen Keith distillery was mothballed in 1999. Extensive reconstruction work began in 2012 and the distillery was reopened in June 2013. At the time of the distillery’s reopening, Chivas Brothers intended that its annual production would be six million litres of spirit, almost all of which would be used in blended whiskies destined for export.

The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Official Bottling
  • Glen Keith 10 Years Old (2015) - Glen Keith 10 Years Old (43%, OB, 1990’s) Speyside single malt scotch whisky 43% ABV, £100 for 70cl Score: 84/100 What they say: Official bottling from Glen Keith, a 10 year old […]
Independent Bottling
DOUGLAS LAING
Gordon & MacPhail
  • glen-keith-1993-whisky Glen Keith 1993 Connoisseurs Choice (2016) - Glen Keith 12 Years Old 1993 Connoisseurs Choice (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, 2005) Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky Origin: Glen Keith Distillery Bottling: Gordon & MacPhail; Connoisseurs Choice ABV: 46% Cost: […]
Master of Malt
Part Des Anges
  • glen-keith-20-year-old-1992-closed-distilleries-part-des-anges-whisky Glen Keith 20 Years Old 1992 Closed Distilleries (2019) - Glen Keith 20 Years Old 1992 Closed Distilleries whisky review: Starts beautifully and I had high hopes this was a great drinker at 58%, however the strength belies and oddly perfumed nature on the tail end which was just a little too floral for my palate. A sploosh of water helped! 78/100
That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
  • Glen Keith Batch 2 (2014) - Glen Keith Batch 2 (44%, That Boutique-Y Whisky Company, 85 Bottles, 2014) Speyside single malt scotch whisky Glen Keith distillery 44% ABV, £85.95 Score: 86/100 What they say: Batch 2 of Glen […]