£120.00
GLEN GARIOCH DISTILLERY Finn Thomson Whisky 200619yo 53.4% abv
"Spirit and oak work together in perfect balance, creating a whisky of power, elegance and exceptional depth that felt complete from the very first sip."
Cask Story:
Every so often, a cask tells you exactly when it is ready. This 2006 Glen Garioch was one of those moments. The final decision to bottle it came during a recording of the Whisky Stories podcast in May 2026. As we shared samples around the table, there was a collective pause before everyone reached the same conclusion—this cask had reached its peak and was ready to be bottled.
Cask influence:
Matured exclusively in a first-fill bourbon cask for twelve years, this whisky is wonderfully expressive. Layers of creamy vanilla, cream soda and fresh oak are complemented by an irresistible sweet-shop character that instantly takes me back to childhood. Bottled at its natural cask strength of 53.3%, it delivers richness and texture while remaining beautifully approachable.
GLEN GARIOCH DISTILLERY Finn Thomson Whisky 2006 19yo 53.4% abv
Although the date of Glen Garioch is officially given as being 1797, there are claims (still to be substantiated) of it producing legally at an even earlier date, a claim which if proved true would make this Oldmeldrum plant the oldest distillery in Scotland. It would make sense that there was whisky being distilled in The Garioch – a fertile part of Aberdeenshire long given over to arable farming.
Whatever the date of its formation, Glen Garioch survived when other eastern distilleries foundered. This was initially thanks to its ownership by blenders J.F. Thompson of Leith in 1884. William Sanderson of Vat 69 (at that point one of the top-selling blends in the world) became a partner in 1886 and took full control in 1908.
Sanderson owned it outright until 1935 when it joined with Booth’s [Royal Brackla, Millburn, Stromness] and then two years later, following a merger, into DCL. It continued in production until 1968 when it and Brora were considered as the sites which could produce heavily-peated whisky for DCL’s blending requirements. Glen Garioch had always struggled for water and it was felt that this would impact on an increase in production. DCL’s response to this was to close Glen Garioch, and re-open Brora.
Two years later, the Glasgow broker Stanley P. Morrison [Bowmore, Auchentoshan] bought it. The firm brought in a local water diviner who found a new source and production not only restarted, but increased.
Morrison’s brought in the same design of heat recovery system it had installed at Bowmore. In that distillery waster heat warmed the water of the town’s swimming pool. At Glen Garioch, it heated two acres of greenhouses where tomatoes were grown.
Heavily peated malt was produced until 1995 when the distillery closed once more. Thankfully it opened again two years later, though by now the peat had gone (as had the distillery’s own maltings) as a different style was being made.
Today it is a member of the Beam Suntory stable, with all of its production going to single malt.
| Weight | 1.5 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 14 × 40 × 14 cm |
