There appears to be no end in sight to the whisky boom. Last week Pernod announced plans to expand the Glenlivet distillery and re-open Braeval. Now, Edrington has announced expansion plans for the Macallan distillery.
And, if all this weren’t enough news for one week, it was announced this morning that Glenglassaugh, which has been mothballed since 1986, will begin production again later this year, following the sale of the distillery by Edrington to a Dutch investment group.
One thing you can count on (and it has already begun): expect to a lot young, new whisky expressions (possibly mixed with a smaller percentage of older whiskies) coming on the market, lacking age statements as all this new whisky becomes legal.
Exactly! Caveat Emptor. Demand to know how old the whisky in the jar is before purchasing.
Some of the newer Irish distilleries are likely to be at this too, I fear.
Unfortunately, the companies probably won’t tell you how old the whisky is. But, the fact that it doesn’t have an age statement is your clue that it will probably contain some (of not all) young whisky in it.
Glenglassaugh has old stocks, and we’re more likely to see those fill in the gap while the new production comes of age in a decade.
But the real story is why Edgrington sold it. Selling off mothballed distilleries as a way to raise cash helps pay the bills coming due today and tomorrow. I fully expect other large producers will sell off their shuttered stills to craft distillers as a way to make a fast buck and keep their prices competitive while wholesale costs continue to march higher than the retail market will bear.
I mean, Macallan and HP can hold their own in a price war, but who wants to pay $30 a bottle for Famous Grouse? It’s good, but not $30 a bottle good.
Brian, yes, selling mothballed distilleries will raise cash for whisky companies to fund the distilleries where they are increasing output and expanding. It’s logical and healthy for the industry–and will be especially nice to see mothballed distilleries like Glenglassaugh starting up again.
[...] John Hansell points out the other potentially bad side of this recent [...]