Glen Garioch 1968 Douglas Laing 36 Year Old Rum Finish / Old and Rare

Glen Garioch is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. For most of the 20th century it was self-sufficient, malting its own barley using peat from Pitsligo, giving it a unique smoky character. In fact, in 1968 it was short-listed by then-owners DCL, to convert to heavily peated production in order to make up for a shortfall on Islay caused by a drought. In an odd twist of fate, the decision was instead made to re-open Brora for the job, and close Glen Garioch down. Morrison Bowmore then sprang to its rescue, restarting production in 1973. The maltings and distillery were shut down again by Beam Suntory in 1995, and only the latter resumed operations two years later, with contemporary Glen Garioch becoming an un-peated single malt. These pre-1995 vintages are worth investigating while you can.

This was distilled in 1968 and aged for a total of 36 years. Before being bottled in 2004, it was finished in ex-Rum wood.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

This is part of the premium Old & Rare series. Launched in 2001, it was bottled by Douglas Laing until 2013 when the brand became part of the Hunter Laing portfolio instead.

One of 84 bottles.