Fettercairn
Founded 1824 Owner Whyte & Mackay Capacity 2,200,000 Litres Location The Highlands
A conflict of interests at Westminster? It would appear to be as old as the hills – the Grampian mountains, that is. In 1824 Alexander Ramsey converted a corn mill in the foothills of the Grampians in Aberdeenshire into a distillery but he went broke five years later and was forced to sell to the Gladstone family. One of the family scions was a certain William who went on to become Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was of course pure coincidence that under his administration, various reforms on the taxation of whisky were introduced.
The twin emblems of Fettercairn are the arch and the unicorn; the latter long being a symbol in classical mythology of strength and purity. The arch, which still dominates the entrance to the town, was built in 1861 to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The name of the whisky translates according to which version of Gaelic you prefer; either ‘foot of the mountain’ or ‘slope by a thicket.’
Under the ownership of Whyte & Mackay since 1973, the distillery boasts two wash and two spirit stills capable of producing 2.2 million litres of spirit a year. A unique feature of the distillery is an irrigator ring which periodically drenches the stills, encouraging them to deliver only the purest whisky. Bottled in a wide variety of ages from 12 to 50 years, this Highland malt boasts exotic fruit flavours, with darker notes introduced by the use of bourbon casks.
