Drumguish
SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > D
DRUMGUISH also see The SPEYSIDE and GLENTROMIE
Drumguish was the first single malt expression from Speyside distillery near Kingussie, built over the course of 25 years by Glasgow-based whisky blender and broker George Christie.
Speyside distillery began distilling in 1990, and while its single malt spirit was also eventually bottled as Glentromie and Spey whisky in later years, its first release was named Drumguish after the surrounding area and a lost distillery that sat across the way in the late 19th century.
Drumguish was first listed in Wallace Milroy’s Malt Whisky Almanac in 1995, which noted the whisky as a ‘floral, fruity, light malt with a sweet, lingering finish’. This relatively positive description was not shared by many other aficionados, and Drumguish never gained any serious traction in the retail trade.
George Christie was a flamboyant whisky broker and blender based in Rutherglen, a southside suburb of Glasgow. He had established the North of Scotland grain distillery in Clackmannanshire in 1957, but his vision was to build his own malt distillery.
Speyside distillery was built near Kingussie in 1987, and began producing malt whisky in 1990. The first expression released was bottled in 1993 under the Drumguish Distillery Company as a no-age-statement, 40% abv Drumguish single malt, although it was quite obviously a barely legal three years old.
Drumguish was soon withdrawn from the market around 1999 as older Speyside distillery expressions were released.
Speyside distillery, its holding company Speyside Distillery Company, and the Drumguish Distillery Company, were all acquired by a private investment group in 2000, followed by Harvey’s of Edinburgh in 2013.
1962
Work begins on constructing
Speyside distillery near Kingussie
1990
Speyside distillery begins producing
single malt spirit
1993
Drumguish single malt is released on
to the UK market with no age statement
1999
Drumguish is withdrawn from the UK market
2000
The distillery is sold to a group of private
investors
2013
Speyside distillery, along with the
Dramguish Distillery Company, is acquired
by Harvey’s of Edinburgh