Located on the east coast of the Highlands, Glenesk was built in 1897 by Dundee wine and spirits merchant James Isle on the site of a former linen mill. The distillery was soon sold and ceased production during WWI, suffering significant fire damage in 1919. Until 1939, it was used only for malting, before being turned into the Montrose grain distillery by Joseph Hobbs, who also owned Ben Nevis. It was mothballed again during WWII, before being bought by Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1953, who closed it down and dismantled it in 1985, at the height of Whisky Loch. Bottlings of Glenesk are rare and generally found in the Rare Malts collection or as independent bottlings.

A Glenesk 13 year old distilled in 1982 and bottled at cask strength in 1995 by Cadenhead for its Authentic Collection range. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. Launched in the 1990s, the Authentic Collection marked the end of the previous two decades of bottlings at 46%, instead favouring cask strength releases. It became Cadenhead’’s main range.