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Glenfiddich distillery () is a
Speyside single malt Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whisky, whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, Scotland, Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland. The two best-selling single malt whiski ...
Scotch whisky distillery located in the Scottish
burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...
of
Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...
in
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Is owned by
William Grant & Sons William Grant & Sons Ltd. is a family-owned company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits based in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's desce ...
. The name Glenfiddich derives from the
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
''Gleann Fhiodhaich'' meaning "valley of the deer", which is reflected in Glenfiddich's
stag A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) a ...
logo.


History

The Glenfiddich Distillery was founded in 1886 by William Grant in
Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...
, Scotland, in the glen of the
River Fiddich The River Fiddich () is a right bank tributary of the River Spey in northeast Scotland. It rises on the eastern slopes of Corriehabbie Hill in Glenfiddich Forest and flows northeastwards beneath the A941 road, past Auchindoun Castle to a shar ...
. The Glenfiddich single malt whisky first ran from the
still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...
s on Christmas Day, 1887. In the 1920s, with
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
in force in the US, Glenfiddich was one of a very small number of distilleries to increase production. This put them in a strong position to meet the sudden rise in demand for fine aged whiskies that came with the
repeal of prohibition In the United States, the nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages was repealed by the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Background In 1919, the requisite number of state legislatures ratif ...
. In the 1950s, the Grant family built up an onsite infrastructure that included coppersmiths to maintain the copper
still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...
s, and a dedicated
cooperage A cooper is a craftsman who produces wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made w ...
that is now one of the very few remaining in distilleries. In 1956 the Grant's brand launched the now-iconic triangular bottle, designed by
Hans Schleger Hans Schleger (born Hans Leo Degenhard Schlesinger; 29 December 1898 – 18 September 1976) was a German-Polish-Jewish and later British graphic designer. Early life He was born in Kępno, Kempen in Posen, Prussia (in modern-day Poland) on 9 ...
. Following difficult times in the 1960s and 1970s, 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 and a visitors' centre. In this period they also decided to begin marketing single malt as a premium brand in its own right, effectively creating the modern
single malt whisky Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single Distillation, distillery. Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulat ...
category with the 1963 introduction of Glenfiddich single malt to the United States and other foreign markets.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 A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...
market for spirits. This marketing strategy was successful, and Glenfiddich has since become the world's best-selling single malt. It is sold in 180 countries, and accounts for about 35% of single malt sales. Glenfiddich is currently managed by the fifth generation of William Grant's descendants. In September 2014, William Grant & Sons agreed to acquire
Drambuie Drambuie is a golden-coloured, 40% ABV liqueur made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. The brand was owned by the MacKinnon family for 100 years, and was bought by William Grant & Sons in 2014. Etymology The name ''Dramb ...
for an undisclosed price rumoured to be in the region of £100 million. In 2015, Glenfiddich commissioned ad agency Gravity Thinking to create a
high tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...
YouTube campaign titled ''The Finishing Touch'' to promote the relaunch of their 21yo single malt, aged in Caribbean Reserva Rum Casks. The video showed a
levitron Levitron is a brand of levitating toys and gifts in science and educational markets marketed by Creative Gifts Inc. and Fascination Toys & Gifts. The ''Levitron'' top device is a design that served as a base for the manufacture of a series of ...
isolating a single drop of whisky in a mid-air suspended animation, and featured Puerto Rican singer Calma Carmona performing the Franz Ferdinand song '' Love Illumination'' with the orchestra of the
Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...
arranged and conducted by Derek Williams. By the end of the campaign, the video had garnered more than 1.7 million YouTube hits. Since 2002, Glenfiddich has had an Artists in Residence (AiR) programme with a total budget of £130,000 allowing artists to stay and work in the distillery each year. In 2019 there were eight artists in residence and in 2021, there were six artists in residence. In 2021, the distillery began converting distillery trucks to run on
biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...
made from the distillery waste products.


Production and location

The Glenfiddich distillery produces Glenfiddich whisky in
Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...
,
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
. Glenfiddich is a
single malt Scotch Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a si ...
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
, this means the whisky was distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and must be made from a mash of malted barley. Onsite there are 43 distinctively-shaped "swan neck" copper pot stills. These stills are smaller than those now in use at most other major distilleries. All stills are handmade and Glenfiddich employs a team of craftsmen and
coppersmith A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The term "redsmith" is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items. Hi ...
s to maintain them. These stills have a capacity of around 21,000,000 litres of spirit. The water source for Glenfiddich Whisky is The Robbie Dhu springs nearby to the distillery. Glenfiddich is matured in many different casks, such as: # ''
Rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
'' casks from the Caribbean # ''
Bourbon whiskey Bourbon whiskey (; also simply bourbon) is a Aging (food), barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the Kingdom of France, French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncerta ...
'' barrels from America # ''
Sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...
'' butts from
Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...
in Spain Once the spirit has matured, the casks are emptied and the whisky is "cut" with pure Robbie Dhu spring water. Glenfiddich has a bottling hall onsite along with a large bottling plant in Bellshill. Glenfiddich is a distillery in
Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail Eight malt whisky distilleries and a cooperage form the Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland's Speyside. Seven of the eight distilleries are in production and operational, whilst the Dallas Dhu distillery is a historic distillery. The Malt Whisky Trai ...
, a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries including Glenfiddich, a historic distillery (Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and the
Speyside Cooperage The Speyside Cooperage is a cooperage located in Craigellachie, Aberlour, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, ...
.


Whiskies


Core range

* Glenfiddich 12-year-old * Glenfiddich 15-year-old * Glenfiddich 18-year-old * Glenfiddich 21-year-old


Liqueur

* Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur: Until 2011 Glenfiddich produced a
liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...
that was 40% alcohol by volume, and sold in 50 cl (500 ml) bottles.


Critical acclaim

Glenfiddich's whiskies have performed well at international
spirits ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels a ...
competitions. The 12, 15, 18, and 21-year offerings have all rated well in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Beverage Testing Institutes' reviews. On balance, the 15-year whisky has performed the best, receiving three double-gold medals (in four years) at the 2007–2010 San Francisco competitions and a score of 91 with the Beverage Testing Institute.


Glenfiddich Awards

Started in 1970, Glenfiddich promoted the
Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards The Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards were intended to recognize achievements in writing, publishing and broadcasting on the subjects of food and drink. The awards had been sponsored since 1972 by William Grant & Sons, a family-owned Scottish dis ...
to honour distinguished writing and broadcasting in the fields of food and drink in the UK. In 2008, Glenfiddich decided to discontinue distributing Food and Drink Awards, reviewing their "strategy, scope and potential application in some of Glenfiddich’s key markets outside the UK." Started in 1998, Glenfiddich promoted the
Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards Glenfiddich distillery () is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray, Scotland. Is owned by William Grant & Sons. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic ''Gleann Fhiodhaic ...
. The Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards were annual awards given to notable Scottish people. Glenfiddich sponsored the event, in association with The Scotsman newspaper. Nine awards were distributed for art, business, environment, food, music, screen, sport, writing and "Top Scot". A consulting panel nominated four people in each category, with the winner decided by a public vote. The "Top Scot" is an open award, with the public able to nominate anyone. The awards haven't been hosted since 2014.


In popular culture

* Glenfiddich was the favourite whisky of fictional detective
Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...
, as well as his creator
Colin Dexter Norman Colin Dexter (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his ''Inspector Morse'' series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV (TV network), ITV television series, ''Inspec ...
. * In the 2004 film ''
Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 biographical historical drama film co-written and directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and h ...
'', the lead character
Paul Rusesabagina Paul Rusesabagina (;
(13 November 2013), by Patt Morrison, ''Los Ang ...
, played by
Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...
, bribes General Augustin Bizimungu with bottles of Glenfiddich in exchange for favourable treatment by his soldiers. * A number of Glenfiddich whiskies feature in bars on the ''
Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
'' video game series as part of their long-running product placement deal with
Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...
.


See also

*
List of whisky distilleries in Scotland This is an incomplete list of Scotch whisky, whisky Distillation, distilleries in Scotland. According to the Scotch Whisky Association there were 151 distilleries licensed to produce Scotch whisky as of May 2024. Currently operating distilleries ...


References


External links

* {{Scottish Distilleries William Grant & Sons Distilleries in Scotland Speyside area distilleries Scottish malt whisky 1887 introductions 1886 establishments in Scotland Glen Fiddich Food and drink companies established in 1886 British companies established in 1886