Glencraig 1974 SMWS 30 Year Old 104.5 75cl / US Import

Glencraig is a rare single malt that was produced at Glenburgie distillery while owned by Hiram Walker, the Canadian drinks giant who bought into Scotch whisky in the early 1930s. They conducted a number of experiments with Lomond stills in the mid-20th century in order to produce a greater variety of malts for their blends, most notably Ballantline's. The spirit from Glenburgie's Lomond still was Glencraig. It was never intended to be bottled as a single malt, and there are no official releases, but a number of sought after independent bottlings like this have appeared over the years. Production of it ceased in 1981 when the stills were removed.

This Glencraig was distilled in June 1974 and matured in a single cask for 30 years. It was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in March 2005 for the American market.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.