Glencadam Distillery

Glencadam Distillery was founded in 1825 by George Cooper in the city of Brechin in the Eastern Highlands. Two of the warehouses built by Cooper that year are still used to store maturing whisky today. Though they have been joined by four more built since the 1950s.

Water used in the production of whisky makes a long journey before coming to Glencadam. It’s drawn from the Moorans spring which rises 8.7km away, and flows through the Unthank Hills to get to the distillery.

Glencadam changed hands five times during the 19th century in its first 70 odd years of life. Gilmour, Thompson & Co. took over in 1891, and stayed in charge for almost as long a time as it had been in operation up to that point. The distillery was mothballed during World Wars One & Two due to barley shortages. The two warehouses standing during that time were used to barracks soldiers, evidence of which can still be seen at the site today. Hiram Walker took over in 1954 and significantly refurbished the distillery five years later. This included bringing in a new set of stills to replace the existing pair, but not expanding their numbers. Allied Lyons bought Hiram Walker in 1984 and ran Glencadam until the turn of the century.

The current owners Angus Dundee Distillers took over in 2003 after the distillery had been mothballed for three years. They began building a reputation for Glencadam as a single malt distillery starting with the release of a 15 year old in 2005. A new version of this was also the latest addition to the line in 2019.

Glencadam distillery is equipped with a 4.9 ton cast iron mash tun, along with six washbacks of stainless steel and just a single pair of stills. These pot stills have an unusual characteristic in that their lyne arms angle up at 15 degrees rather than downwards. This produces a lighter spirit during condensation. The distillery has a production capacity of 1.3 million litres of spirits a year.

The core range at Glencadam consists of the Origin 1825, finished in Oloroso Sherry butts and released without an age statement. Enthusiasts will also be able to choose the age of whisky they’re looking for down to a minutia with the 10, 13, 15, 18, 21, and 25 years old. These are light and sweet whiskies with a lot of fruit in the nose and palate.The 21 year old has a stronger level of spice than the others with cinnamon and oak joining the tropical fruit flavours.

Rounding out the range, and filling in the age gaps between the others, are the Portwood and Oloroso Sherry wood finishes. The 17 year old Triple Cask Portwood Finish is finished in a trio of ex-Port hogsheads. The 19 year old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish has added notes of sweet spices to the floral Glencadam character.