Location East Lothian Status active Owner Diageo Founded 1837 | Founder George and John Rate Capacity 2,700,000 litres Phone +44 1875 342012 | |
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Address Pencaitland, Tranent EH34 5ET, UK Hours Closed now Tuesday10AM–5PMWednesday10AM–5PMThursday10AM–5PMFriday10AM–5PMSaturday10AM–5PMSunday10AM–5PMMonday10AM–5PM Similar The Scotch Whisky Experience, Rabbie's Tours, Highland Experience Tours, Rosslyn Chapel, Timberbu Tours | ||
Glenkinchie distillery model
Glenkinchie distillery is a Scotch single malt whisky distillery in East Lothian, Scotland. It is one of the six distilleries in the Lowland region. It is owned by the drinks giant Diageo.
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Glenkinchie distillery
The Distillery
Glenkinchie lies, as the name might suggest, in a glen of the Kinchie Burn near the village of Pencaitland, East Lothian. It is situated about 15 miles from Edinburgh. The distillery is set in farmland. The name 'Kinchie' is a corruption of 'De Quincy', the original owners of the land. Its origins date back to around 1825 when it was founded by brothers John and George Rate, While there are no direct records it seems likely that Glenkinchie is the Milton Distillery previous recorded in the area. The brothers probably renamed it in about 1837. In 1853, the Rate Brothers were bankrupted and the site converted to a sawmill.
In 1881, the plant was rebuilt and whisky-making restarted under Maj. James Grey.
In 1969 the distillery stopped malting its own grain and the malting floors were turned into a museum of malt whisky.
The Glenkinchie label was relatively little known until 1989, when United Distillers started marketing it under their Classic Malts brand.
The Whisky
The standard 10-year-old Glenkinchie has now been replaced by the standard "12-year-old". This is a fairly typical lowland whisky in that it is fresh and light in character, with notes of lemon and cut grass. It has a sweet nose and a hint of peat.
The 14-year-old Distiller's Edition is double-matured, a process sometimes referred to as finishing where whisky is transferred to another barrel for further ageing, in Amontillado sherry casks. The sherry flavour competes slightly with the freshness but does not overpower it.
Glenkinchie 12 Year Old was named Best Lowland Single Malt at the 2013 World Whiskies Awards.