Glencadam 15 Year
Founded in 1825, next to Brechin distillery (closed permanently in 1983), Glencadam has changed hands many times over the past almost two hundred years. Angus Dundee (who also owns Tomintoul) is the current owner and the distillery has been in production since 2003. The Glencadam 15 Year is part of a single malt range from 10 to 21 years, with the remaining portions used in blends such as Ballantine’s. The water, fed by the Barry Burn, is known for being soft. The distillery’s output is a relatively low 1.4 million liters per year. The name “Glencadam” comes from the area known as “The Tenements of Caldhame,” which were grounds given to the town by the crown for food production located near the distillery.
Craigellachie 13 Year
Though the village of Craigellachie may be more famous as the home of The Macallan, as well as the confluence of the rivers Spey and Fiddich, it is also home to the Craigellachie Distillery. It has generally flown under the whisky radar due to the fact that its output has always gone into blends, specifically Dewar’s (the distillery is owned by Bicardi but managed directly by Dewar & Sons). Thankfully, a few single malt expressions have been put out as part of Dewar’s Last Great Malts series, which focuses on new expressions and malts never released before. Aside from being uncompromising in taste, the distillery is also known for the use of the unique worm tubs, a call back to an earlier time in whisky production.
Tamdhu 10 Year
Tamdhu makes no bones about tapping into the Scottish ingenuity found prominently in the Enlightenment. Built in 1898 by a consortium of Scottish whisky traders, the distillery lays along the River Spey with the stated aim of producing the finest whisky possible. At least until it closed in 2010. With a resurgence of whisky in full swing, however, the site didn’t remain stagnant for long and was purchased in 2011 by Ian Macleod Distillers to be reborn in 2013 with the same Can-Dhu spirit (trust us, they make use of this wordplay too). Being so new, in a sense, the distillery only has three main offerings, with this 10 year being the flagship.