Glenfiddich distillery
| Region: Speyside | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dufftown |
| Owner | William Grant & Sons |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Status | Operational |
| Water source | Robbie Dhu Springs |
| No. of stills | 10 wash 16 spirit |
| Glenfiddich | |
| Age(s) | 12-year-old 15-year-old 18-year-old 21-year-old 30-year-old 40-year-old 50-year-old |
| Cask type(s) | Bourbon Sherry Rum |
The Glenfiddich Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery owned by William Grant & Sons in Dufftown, Scotland. Glenfiddich means ‘Valley of the deer’ in Gaelic, hence the presence of a deer symbol on Glenfiddich bottles.[1][2]
History
The Glenfiddich Distillery was founded in 1886 by William Grant in Dufftown, Scotland, in the valley of the River Fiddich.[3] The Glenfiddich single malt whisky first ran from the stills on Christmas Day, 1887.[4]
Following difficult times in the 1960s and 70s, many small, independent distillers were bought up or went out of business. In order to survive, W. Grant & Sons expanded their production of the drink, and introduced advertising campaigns, a visitors' centre and from 1957 packaged the Scotch in distinctive triangular bottles.[5]
Later, W. Grant & Sons was one of the first distilleries to package its bottles in tubes and gift tins, as well as recognising the importance of the duty-free market for spirits. This marketing strategy was successful, and Glenfiddich has now become the world's best-selling single malt.[6] It is sold in 180 countries,[4] and accounts for about 35% of single malt sales.[7]
Production
The whisky is the only Highland or Speyside Scotch whisky to be distilled, matured and bottled at a single distillery.[citation needed] Like other distilleries, such as Glen Grant and Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich uses a single source of natural spring water. [citation needed] This source is the Robbie Dhu springs. Glenfiddich is matured in oak casks such as rum casks from Cuba (in the case of Gran Reserva), Bourbon whiskey barrels from America (Ancient Reserve), or sherry butts from Jerez in Spain.[8][9]
Whiskies
Glenfiddich is bottled at ages of 12, 15, 18, 21 and 30 years old. The distillery has also bottled a number of rare whiskies including:
- Glenfiddich 40 Year Old (from casks filled in 1963)
- Glenfiddich 50 Year Old
- Glenfiddich 1937 (this whisky was bottled in 2001 and therefore it is 64 years old—years spent in the bottle are not counted)
Other whiskies include Caoran Reserve, Solera Reserve, and Havana (now simply 21 year old, as with all the non-vintage whiskies) Reserva.
Liqueur
Glenfiddich produces a liqueur called simply "Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur" that is 40% alcohol by volume, and is sold in 50 cl (500 ml) bottles. Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur is exported to foreign markets, such as the USA, but not widely. It is also not widely available outside of specialist whisky retailers.
Glenfiddich Awards
Since 1970, Glenfiddich has promoted the Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards to honour distinguished writing and broadcasting in the fields of food and drink in the UK.
Glenfiddich in popular culture
- The 1996 film Swingers features Glenfiddich as the characters' drink of choice for a single malt.
- Glenfiddich is the favourite drink of Inspector Morse.
- Glenfiddich features in the US television series Dexter, in which it is shared by the characters Ellen Wolf and Maria LaGuerta. It is also used by the Trinity Killer in season four.
- In an episode of Family Guy, Brian and Stewie are locked in a bank vault over the weekend and drink a bottle of Glenfiddich to pass the time.
- In "The Whole Nine Yards," Matthew Perry's character drinks Glenfiddich.
References
- ^ Whisky Pronunciation chart from Univ. of Edinburgh
- ^ William Grant & Sons
- ^ Glenfiddich
- ^ a b William Grant & Sons
- ^ scotchwhisky.com, URL accessed March 31, 2007
- ^ Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival website
- ^ ScotchWhisky.com
- ^ Glenfiddich Gran Reserva product information
- ^ Glenfiddich Ancient Reserva product information
See also
External links
- Glenfiddich.com
- Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards
- Glenfiddich Whisky - details about the whisky
- Glenfiddich Whisky Range - details about the Glenfiddich whisky range
- Glenfiddich Distillery - details about the Glenfiddich Distillery
- Facts about Glenfiddich
- Details on how to visit the Glenfiddich distillery
- More Facts about Glenfiddich
- Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur
- Glenfiddich Distilery Photo Taken in June 2008
- Glenfiddich Barrel Art Project
- mywhisky.com - private website over Glenfiddich
