About J & G Grant, Glenfarclas Distillery
Glenfarclas means "The Valley of the Green Grass" in Gaelic, and the skilled Scots obtain the water used in the distillation from a small spring that rises from the beautiful and dramatic Ben Rinnes. The distillery is located at the foot of the heather-covered mountain, where the water spurts out from the underlying granite when the winter snow melts. The combination of the very pure, soft water and the unique shape of the pot stills that Glenfarclas uses contributes to the distillery's unique Highland Single Malts .
Glenfarclas Distillery has been family-owned since 1865, and it is the Grant family who have established the Scotch whisky distillery as one of the best in the world. Glenfarclas is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries that are still family-owned. Since 1865, the distillery has been in the hands of the same family: The Grants. John Grant was actually a cattle farmer when he bought Recherlich Farm and Glenfarclas Distillery in 1865 for £511. It is six generations of whisky knowledge that benefits us consumers today. This continuity has made it possible for Glenfarclas to still use older ways of making whisky. Not because of romance and a longing for history. Glenfarclas is a success, and rightly so.
As George Grant, the sixth generation of the family, puts it: "We've lived through 22 recessions. We make the whisky we can afford to make and never borrow money to make it." During the 1980s, when the whisky industry itself was cutting back on production, Glenfarclas's was on the rise. Glenfarclas has larger volumes in stock than most distilleries. A reluctance to independent bottlers using the distillery's name on their (rare) offerings has also helped maintain a strong identity for the Glenfarclas brand itself. Glenfarclas also insists on maturing its whiskies in ex- sherry casks . This helps the whisky achieve greater body, complexity and sweetness. It's no small operation, and today they have 80,000 casks for ageing. Since 1989 they have come from Spain, specifically Huelva near Jerez - and they do so almost every month.
