Fettercairn 40 Years Old

Fettercairn 40 Years Old

$4,000 AUD

40% 70 cl

Only 463 bottles emerged from this initiative at the usually very understated Fettercairn distillery. Somewhat unusually, the spirit was aged in Apostoles palo cortado sherry casks from the year of distillation in 1969. We are told it 'offers thick chunky orange rind, cinnamon and spice...crushed almonds, ginger and bitter chocolate'.

Now very hard to find.

This product is located in Australia.

Distillery

Fettercairn Distillery

This is one of those understated Eastern Highlands malt distilleries which has been around a long time, mainly providing spirit for the blenders but which comes up with the occasional surprise single malt bottling.

Recently expanding its production capacity to 3.2 million litres a year, Fettercairn is at the heart of the blends of Whyte & Mackay. The latter acquired the distillery in 1973, on taking over the then owners, Hay & MacLeod & Co and W.S. Strong & Co., who had formed a partnership to buy Fettercairn in 1971. Prior to that it had had a long and somewhat chequered history, including fire and periods of closure, going back to its foundation in 1825. It was sold five years later and had a variety of owners, including Sir John Gladstone, the father of the long-serving British Prime Minister, Sir William Gladstone. Ross and Coulter bought it in 1923 but closed it a few years later. There were several subsequent ownership changes until Whyte & Mackay took over and a new era emerged, culminating in Emperador Distillers Inc buying the Whyte & Mackay assets in 2014.