Glenkinchie is a distillery in the Scottish Lowlands founded by brothers John and George Rate.1,2,3 Diageo and Whiskypedia date its start to 1825, as Milton, while Historic Environment Scotland and the Gazetteer for Scotland give 1837.1,2,3 The distillery stood disused from 1853 until 1880.3,4,5Diageo has owned it since 1997.6,7
Light, fruity and pleasant, with marshmallows, icing sugar and citrus; tauter and lemony on the palate, though it may be best enjoyed with ice in summer.
Lively and fresh, with apples and lemons, herbal tea and a malty finish; genuinely good and very well made.
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barley
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By Serge Valentin
Silent, 1853–1880
Producing, 1880–today
Name
Milton, 1825–1837
Glenkinchie, 1837–today
182519001950Today
The Rate brothers
Diageo says Milton was renamed Glenkinchie in 1837, and Wikipedia says the brothers probably renamed it in about 1837, though no direct records link Milton to Glenkinchie.2,6,7 Whiskypedia and Grace's Guide say the brothers built a larger distillery in 1837, which Whiskypedia places on the current site.2,6,7 They went bankrupt in 1853, and the distillery closed.6,7,8 Whiskypedia and Wikipedia say the site became a sawmill, while Historic Environment Scotland records it as a cowshed.6,7,8
Revived and rebuilt
In 1880 the Glen Kinchie Distillery Company rebuilt the premises and began making whisky again, though Whiskypedia and Wikipedia give 1881.4,7,8 The Glenkinchie Distillery Company Limited was registered on 15 October 1883.9 In his 1887 book, Alfred Barnard recorded two old pot stills, with all the barley supplied from the surrounding district.9,10 He named Mr. Hannan as principal partner and put output at about 76,000 gallons of malt whisky a year.9,10 Under Major James Grey, the plant was rebuilt and expanded into its current form in 1890.5,7,11
Sources disagree: when it reopened. This page uses 1880.
In 1914 Glenkinchie joined Rosebank, St Magdalene, Grange and Clydesdale to form Scottish Malt Distillers.4,6,7 Scottish Malt Distillers had a scale model of a malt whisky distillery built for the 1924 Empire Exhibition at Wembley, and it is now in the museum at Glenkinchie.4,7,8 Scottish Malt Distillers merged with Distillers Company Limited in 1925.6,7,9 After Guinness bought The Distillers Company in 1986, ownership passed to United Distillers.
Changes to the plant
The floor maltings, where the distillery once malted its own barley, were last used in 1968 and now house a museum of malting.3,7,8 Wikipedia gives 1969.3,7,8 Difford's Guide says the still house was rebuilt in 1981 and the mash house in 1995.12 On 26 October 2020 a new visitor centre opened in the distillery's Victorian red-brick warehouses.5,6,13 Diageo calls Glenkinchie the Lowland Home of Johnnie Walker, where its spirit adds a floral note to the blend.5,6
Next: Changes to the plant, How it makes its spirit
Diageo says the distillery is named after the Kinchie Burn, which supplies its water.1,6,7 Whiskypedia, Wikipedia, the Gazetteer for Scotland and Difford's Guide name the Lammermuir Hills as its water source.1,6,7 It uses lightly peated malt.7 It has 6 wooden washbacks, the tanks where sugary water from the mash ferments into a beer-like wash.7,12 Fermentation lasts at least 60 hours.7 Whiskypedia says clear wort and long ferments push the spirit towards lightness and fruit.7 It has one wash still and one spirit still, and Whiskypedia calls the wash still the largest in Scotland.6,7,12 Both stills are heated by steam.7 The stills run into a cast-iron worm tub filled with cold water, which turns the vapour back into spirit.1,7,12 Diageo says the worm tub gives the spirit more character and depth.1,7,12 It can make 2.5 million litres of alcohol a year.7 On 13 May 1991 Historic Environment Scotland listed its 5-storey maltings of about 1885 and its brick chimney of about 1895 at Category B.3
