Glenglassaugh Single Malt Scotch Whisky

GlenglassaughSingle Malt Scotch Whisky

In 1907, only 15 years after the takeover, Glenglassaugh fell silent and it remained closed until 1931. After a five-year burst of activity, it was closed again from 1936-1960. Before reopening, however, Glenglassaugh was completely overhauled and re-equipped.

It continued in production until 1986 when the site was forced to close once again. The license was returned in 1992 and for a long time it seemed that a revival of the distillery was unlikely. That all changed, though, in 2008, since which time new ownership and management has breathed new life into a distillery that had previously seemed permanently moribund.

Highland Distillers (and its parent companies Grant's & Edrington Group) owned the distillery until it was bought by the Scaent Group in August 2008, after which the revival in this little-known distillery's fortunes was quite dramatic. Under the experienced eye of managing director Stuart Nickerson, along with Graham Eunson (formerly of Glenmorangie) the Glenglassaugh began production in November 2008, around which time it also released new bottlings from the aged stock that had been taken over with the distillery. These (necessarily, given the length of time the distillery was out of production) long-aged expressions went on to reap instant success, earning gold medals and two trophies at the International Wine & Spirits Challenge for Best Cask Strength Malt and Best 40 year-old Malt.

Glenglassaugh was a major contributor to Highland Distillers’ blends (including Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark and Lang's) while under their ownership. Only a handful of official single malt expressions were released before the Scaent group takeover, the most famous of which was the 'Family Silver' bottling released in the late 1990s.

In 2016, Glenglassaugh was purchased by Brown-Forman – along with Benriach and Glendronach – and celebrated master blender Rachel Barrie set about shoring up stocks for a new series of official bottlings. After some years of development, 2023 brought three new Glenglassaugh single malts offering new expressions of the distillery character and some rather handsome updated livery. While Glenglassaugh’s distinctive character often failed to find an audience in the 20^th century, it seems that the 21^st century may well see it recognised as a top-tier distillery.