Glen Garioch has re-opened its Oldmeldrum distillery to the public for the first time in two years, following a £6m renovation by owner Beam Suntory.
The renovation has involved the reintroduction of floor maltings and the installation of direct-fired heating to the wash still – traditional methods still used by only a handful of distilleries to enhance the quality and complexity of their whiskies.
To complement this return to tradition, Glen Garioch has developed a highly efficient and safe method for direct-fired distillation, which is expected to reduce the distillery’s carbon footprint by around 15%.
Alongside this, Glen Garioch is launching a 1991 Bourbon Single Cask, from which visitors can bottle their own whisky straight from the cask in one of the distillery’s historic warehouses.
“It’s been amazing to re-open the distillery up to the public after all this time, and especially to show them all the work that has been done so far to reinstate our traditional processes and drive towards our vision of a more sustainable future,”Kwanele Mdluli, Distillery Manager of Glen Garioch, said.
“It’s truly an exciting and milestone moment for Glen Garioch as we open this new chapter in our history and invite others to share a dram of our iconic whisky.”
