Glenfarclas has just celebrated 150 years as a working distillery. That’s quite an achievement. What makes this even more remarkable is that the company has been family-owned its entire existence. John Grant bought the distillery in 1865. His grandsons, John and George, formed the company J & G Grant. Fifth generation family member John L.S. Grant is chairman of the company, and his son George S. Grant serves as brand ambassador.
Oban is a member of Diageo’s “Classic Malts” collection, representing the Highland region along with Dalwhinnie. Bottled at 43% abv, Oban single malt is aged 14 years although other expressions exist, namely an 18 year version and the new non-age statement (NAS) Oban “Little Bay.” This whisky hails from the town of Oban, located in the western Highland region of Scotland. The Oban distillery isn’t named after the town. Quite the opposite – the town was built around the Oban distillery. That’s a neat story, but there’s good news and bad news here. The good news is that this small distillery produces great whisky. The bummer is there is no room for growth. Because since the town was built around the distillery, there is physically no way the distillery can expand. Oban was founded in 1794, making it one of the oldest whisky distillery around. As mentioned earlier, Oban is on the west coast of Scotland, in the Highland region. It’s placement next to the sea not only earned its nickname “Gateway to the Isles,” it also helps impart some of that maritime essence into its whisky.
Here we are… the top of the Johnnie Walker lineup. I first heard of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the early 2000s, before I was really into whisky. Pre-Hurricane Katrina, a friend of mine was saving up for a bottle. She called it her favorite “smoky Scotch.” I’ve been intrigued ever since. Of course, we know the toll that hurricane took on the city of New Orleans. My friend never got to buy that bottle of JW Blue Label, although she still mentions it from time to time. Fast forward many years – I have a sample bottle of the stuff in front of me. As I dive into the whisky in my glass, I can’t help being reminded of the nearly empty fishbowl that sat on my friend’s desk with a sign that read “Johnnie Walker Blue Fund”. Good times.
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