The Connoisseurs Choice series is known for independently bottling carefully selected individual casks to showcase distillery character and cask influence.
Fragrant, sweet, slightly grassy and with a lick of oiliness, Glenburgie’s make is pretty much entirely ring-fenced by blender Sandy Hyslop for the Ballantine’s blend.
Ballantine’s status as the second largest seller in the world accounts for the fact that Glenburgie’s sightings as a single malt are as infrequent as those of the Loch Ness monster. Allied only bottled it once and Chivas Bros. has only ever included it in its limited edition Cask Strength series (which are only available through the firms’ distillery visitors' centres). It very occasionally pops up as an independent bottling, as do some of the last remaining stocks of Glencraig. It is not commonly seen other than as a bottling from Gordon & MacPhail. However, in July 2017 Glenburgie was released as a 15-year-old single malt (alongside expressions from Glentauchers and Miltonduff) under the Ballantine’s brand.
Although its little-known as a single malt, Glenburgie’s history stretches back to 1829 when it was built on the flatlands near Forres by William Paul. After the (fairly common) multiple changes in ownership it became part of the estate of blenders James & George Stodart, owner of the Old Smuggler blend, although they never actually made whisky on the site.
Stodart was bought out by Hiram Walker in 1936, at the same time the Canadian firm bought Miltonduff. Ever since then Glenburgie has been closely associated with the Ballantine’s blend.
Like Miltonduff, it was home to a pair of ‘Lomond’ stills from 1958 to 1981, which produced a malt known as Glencraig.
In 2004, the old distillery was demolished and a new, larger, open plan one was constructed. A third pair of stills was added at this point. It has been part of Chivas Brothers since 2005.
