Glentauchers Distillery, Mulben: The Buchanan’s Blend Malt

Overview

Glentauchers is a big, little-known Speyside distillery in the farmland at Mulben, between Keith and Rothes. It was built in 1897, at the peak of the Victorian whisky boom, to designs by John Alcock under the great distillery architect Charles Doig. It was long tied to the blending firm of James Buchanan, makers of Black & White. Today it belongs to Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard), and with six stills and a capacity of about 4.5 million litres it is a major supplier of malt for their blends. It is rarely bottled on its own.

Where it is

The distillery stands beside the A95 at Mulben, about 4 miles west of Keith and 7 miles east of Rothes. Until 1964 it had its own railway halt, Tauchers Platform, on the line between Keith and Elgin. Elgin is about 15 miles away and Aberdeen about 1 hour 15 minutes.

The full history

1897: the boom years

In the 1890s, blended Scotch was booming and blenders were building their own distilleries to guarantee supplies. Glentauchers was one of them. It was designed by John Alcock and built under Charles Doig & Son of Elgin, who designed many of Speyside’s pagoda-roofed distilleries. The railway gave it a direct link to the blending halls in the south.

Buchanan’s and DCL

Glentauchers became part of the business of James Buchanan & Co, whose Black & White blend, with its Scottie dog and westie label, became world-famous. In 1925 Buchanan’s joined the Distillers Company. The distillery worked on through the 20th century, but in 1985 its owners, United Distillers, mothballed it in the whisky slump.

Allied and Chivas

In 1989 Glentauchers was sold to Allied Distillers and later restarted. An official 15-year-old bottling appeared in 2000, and Gordon & MacPhail released a semi-official bottling in the 1990s. When Pernod Ricard bought Allied in 2005, Glentauchers passed to Chivas Brothers. Its malt goes mainly into their blends.

How it’s made

Glentauchers has three wash stills and three spirit stills, with a capacity of about 4.5 million litres of alcohol a year. Water comes from the Rosarie Burn. The spirit is light, grassy and floral, a classic blending Speyside style.

Clans & the land

• The Gordons: this was Gordon country between the Spey and the Deveron. In 1594 the Gordon Earl of Huntly defeated a royal army at the Battle of Glenlivet, south-west of here. See Clan Gordon.
• The Grants held Strathspey to the west. See Clan Grant.
• The Ogilvies held Milton of Keith, whose ruined tower still stands by the River Isla.

Lochs, churches & stones

• Loch Park, near Drummuir, about 5 miles south: a long, narrow wooded loch, the source of the River Isla, with a lovely walk along its shore. See our lochs guide.
• Keith’s Auld Brig over the Isla, built in 1609, one of the oldest bridges in the north-east.
• Mortlach Kirk, Dufftown, about 9 miles south: an ancient church site with the Pictish Battle Stone in its kirkyard. See our standing stones guide.

Getting around: the Whisky Line & the Isla Way

Glentauchers’ old railway is gone, but a nearby heritage line still runs. The Keith & Dufftown Railway, known as the “Whisky Line”, runs 11 miles between Keith Town station and Dufftown in summer, past Loch Park and Drummuir. It is a gentle way to travel between two whisky towns without driving. Walkers can take the Isla Way, a waymarked route of about 13 miles from Keith to Dufftown along the river and through farmland. It links neatly with the Speyside Way at Dufftown. Between Mulben and Rothes, the A95 crosses the open, rolling farmland that grows much of the barley used by Speyside’s maltsters.

Visiting

Glentauchers is production only, with no visitor centre or tours. For a Chivas distillery you can visit, Strathisla in Keith is 10 minutes away.

Nearby distilleries

• Auchroisk (about 3 miles).
• Strathisla, Glen Keith and Strathmill, Keith (about 4 miles).
• Aultmore (about 6 miles).
• Speyburn and Glen Grant, Rothes (about 7 miles).

The Speyside Whisky Trail and the whisky hub cover the region.

Sources

• Glentauchers distillery — Wikipedia.
• Chivas Brothers / Pernod Ricard.