The Glen Elgin distillery is located in Fogwatt, Speyside. Built in 1898 by bankers William Simpson and James Carle, it began production in 1900, in the wake of the Pattison Crisis. It closed twice before being sold in 1906 to JJ Blanche & Co, a wine producer. Via the subsidiary Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD), it joined the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) portfolio, who gave the license to White Horse. Unsurprisingly, Glen Elgin played a key role in the eponymous blend. Rare official versions do exist, such as a 12 year old from the 1980s, another released in 2001 for the Flora and Fauna range, and The Manager’‘s Dram 16 Years, but overall Glen Elgin remains the privilege of blends and independent bottlers.

A Glen Elgin 21 year old distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2017. 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. A limited edition of 240 bottles.