Glen Flagler

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > G

Also see Moffat, Killyloch, Garnheath, Islebrae

GLENFLAGLER

23 years old

50,1 %

VINTAGE 1970
Distilled 6.10.1970
Bottled 1994
Cask No. 1260 en 7861
350 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENFLAGLER

23 years old

52,6 %

VINTAGE 1972
Distilled 10.11.1972
Bottled 26.6.1996
Cask No. 228443
232 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

GLENFLAGLER

24 years old

52 %

SILENT STILLS
Distilled 10.11.1972
Bottled 15.5.1997
Cask No. 228444
230 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

Lowlands
GLEN FLAGLER also see KILLYLOCH, MOFFAT en GARNHEATH
Inver House Distillers Limited, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.
Publicker Industries Inc te Philadelphia, Verenigde Staten, introduceerden in 1950 een nieuw merk blended whisky: Inver House.
Ze waren in Amerika al heel succesvol met de blend Old Hickory en wilden in Schotland uitbreiden omdat aan hun vraag naar meer Schotse whisky niet werd voldaan door de Schotse whiskyindustrie.
Inver House werd als dochteronderneming gesticht en er werd een enorm complex gebouwd op het terrein van een voormalige papierfabriek te Airdrie, ten zuiden van Glasgow in 1965.
Het gebouwencomplex omvatte een graandistilleerderij, Garnheath, twee malt distilleer-derijen, Glen Flagler en Lillyloch, een mouterij, blending faciliteiten, een bottelarij en 32 lagerpakhuizen.
Het complex stond bekend onder de naam Moffat.
De opzet was om totaal zelfvoorziend te zijn, op zeker moment cultiveerde men ook zijn eigen gist.
Het idee hiervoor was van de Amerikaanse directeur S.S. Neuman, die Moffat als zijn levenswerk beschouwde en betrokken was bij elk aspekt van het bedrijf.
Er werden drie malt whiskies geproduceerd: Glen Flagler, Lillyloch en Islebrae.
Voor deze drie malt whiskies werd hetzelfde beslag gebruikt, maar omdat men ook sen eigen mouterij bezat kon men ook bepalen om met met meer of minder turf te drogen/ roken.
Glenflagler bezat drie wash stills en drie spirit stills.
Killyloch werd het minst geturfrookt, Glen Flagler meer, terwijl Islebrae heel zwaar werd geturfrookt, zoals een Islay malt.
Lillyloch rijpte in Amerikaanse vaten, Glen Flagler in ex- sherry vaten.
Er stonden zes ketels te Moffat die allen van een zelfde model waren met dikke nekken en reinigers.
Zo goed als alle malt whisky was bedoeld voor de blends van Inver House.
Glen Flagler was een korte tijd verkrijgbaar als single malt whisky in het begin van de jaren zeventig en werd gebotteld met vijf en acht jaar oud, beiden met 43 %.
In 1973 koopt Inver House Bladnoch. S.S. Neuman sterft in 1976.
Zijn familie waren als opvolgers niet zo betrokken bij het bedrijf en bovendien raakte de whiskyindustrie in een diepe recessie, met als gevolg heel lagere prjjzen voor gelagerde whisky.
De produktie van Lillyloch werd gestopt in 1976. Bladnoch werd verkocht aan Bell's in 1983.

Loch Lomond, in 1985 gekocht van Barton werd wat later verkocht aan Glen Catrine Bon-ded Warehouse Ltd.
Glen Flagler werd in Juli 1985 gesloten.
Garnheath, de graandistilleerderij sloot in Juli 1986.
Publicker Industries Inc was in moeilijkheden en in Januari 1988 was er een management buy-out door vier directeuren van het bedrijf voor £ 8.2 miljoen.
Garnheath werd gesloopt in 1988.
De mouterijen zijn verdwenen, maar er staan nog wel 37 (eerder 32) lagerpakhuizen.
De waterbron van zowel Glen Flagler als van Lillyloch was Lillyloch.
Glen Flagler werd ook wel als Glenflagler geschreven.
Er zouden nog een paar vaten Glen Flagler bestaan.
Zowel Glen Flagler als Lillyloch zijn ook uitgebracht geweest als een vatted malt.
Inver House Distillers Limited:
In 1988 werd The Knockdhu overgenomen van United Distillers Limited.
Ook in 1988 wordt Hankey Bannister, een blend, gekocht van International Distillers & Vintners (I.D.V.).
In 1992 werd Catto, ook een blend, en ook van I.D.V. overgenomen. In Januari 1992 wordt Speyburn gekocht van United Distillers Ltd. In 1995 worden (Old) Pulteney en Balblair overgenomen van Allied Domecq.
In December 1997 wordt Balmenach, dat al sinds Mei 1993 niet meer in produktie was, overgenomen door Inver House, en weer opgestart. Kosten £ 250.000.
Kwam Glen Flagler tussen 1965 en 1969 van een pot still, werd Glen Flagler na die tijd eerst gedistilleerd in een patent still en daarna in een pot still.
In 1970 werden Islebrae, een zwaarder geturfrookte single malt (15 ppm phenol) en Killyloch geproduceerd, dit eindigde in 1982.

In 1994 geschiedt een wonder, de gebroeders Andrew en Brian Symington van Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, vinden een paar vaten van zowel Glenflagler als van Killyloch en brengen deze uit.

1964

The American Company Publicker Industries

buys and rebuilds Moffat Paper Mills
in Airdrie creating three co-located distilleries:

Garnheath (grain), and Glen
Flagler and Killyloch (both malt).

Moffat Maltings are also built
1975

Killyloch closes
1978

Moffat Maltings is sold to

Associated British Maltsters
1985

Glen Flagler closes in July
1986

Garneheath closes in July
1988

Inver House is bought out from

Publicker Industries by the management
2001

Pacific Spirits (owned by Great Oriole Group )

buys Inver House Distillers for
$ 85 million
2003

Inver House releases Glen Flagler 1973

(931 bottles) and Killyloch 1967
(371 bottles)

Both Glen Flagler and Killyloch had a short involvement with the whisky market. The American market for blended whisky was growing and the American company Publicker Industries considered having a grain distillery (Garnheath) and two malt distilleries (Glen Flagler and Killyloch) on the same premises a good business incentive. Business went well in the beginning and Glen Flagler was also sold as single malt in the 1960s and 1970s to Italy among other countries.
However, the demand for blended whisky grew smaller in the U.S. in the late 1970s and Killyloch which has been used exclusively for blending purposes, was closed followed by Glen Flagler and Garnheath a few years later.

There were actually two versions of Glen Flagler as the wash still was replaced by a continuous still in 1969 in order to better produce a whisky which was more adapted to the American market.

Glen Flagler and Killyloch are two major rarities on the whisky scene today. Signatory launched two Glen Flagler in the mid 1990s but everything went quiet until 2003 when Inver House suprpringly released a Glen Flagler 1973 and a Killyloch 1967. These ware possible the last two bottlings ever made.
Some caution is advised if one encounters the name Glen Flagler. Inver House has sold blended malt named Glen Flagler Pure Malt Special Reserve since the 1980s. Another Glen Flagler version which was produced until 1970 and named Islebrae

GARNHEATH DISTILLERY

LOWLAND SINGLE GRAIN SCOTCH WHISKY

Garnheath was developed to produce both neutral grain spirit (NGS) and grain whisky at a time of increasing demand for blended Scotch whisky. With its five continuous stills it had a capacity of 15m OPG (original proof gallons), making it one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland at the time.

Garnheath was never officially bottled as a single grain, though a small handful of independent bottlings exist.

By the 1960s several multipurpose grain and malt distilleries had cropped up around Scotland, including sites such as Dumbarton/Inverleven near Glasgow, Ben Nevis in Fort William and Strathclyde/Kinclaith in Glasgow. Operating dual malt and grain operations was seen as a cost-effective way for blenders to secure stocks for their own brands.

In 1964 Philadelphia-based Publicker Industries founded Inver House Distillers – named after chairman Simon Neuman’s Philadelphia home – and converted the Moffat paper mill in Airdrie into a malt and grain distillery complex to secure future liquid for its blended Scotch Inver House Rare.

Four or six pairs of copper pot stills (sources vary) were installed to create the Glen Flagler and Killyloch malt distilleries (which also produced peated single malt Islebrae), while five continuous stills made up the Garnheath grain plant.

The site began producing malt and grain whisky in 1965, while three years later the complex’s efficiency was vastly improved with the introduction of an adjacent blending and bottling plant, and the Moffat Wanderhaufen box maltings, the largest commercial maltings in Europe at that time.

Garnheath reached the pinnacle of its 22-year lifespan in 1980 when an award-winning by-products recovery plant was opened by George Younger, Secretary of State for Scotland, though by then the business was already beginning to unravel.

Neuman had passed away in 1976 with the company US$39m in debt. The maltings had been sold to Associated British Maltsters in 1978 and by 1983 Inver House sold its Bladnoch distillery to Arthur Bell & Sons after just 10 years of ownership.

Neuman’s widow, Helen Publicker, who had assumed control of the business, also passed away 11 years after her husband. Facing increasing competition from other spirit categories, and with the death of its chairman, Publicker Industries paid little interest in Inver House.

In 1985, the same year as Helen’s death, Glen Flagler was closed, although its stills became silent some time before. The following year Garnheath also ceased production.

Inver House was in desperate need of intervention, so in 1988 a management buy-out led by its UK directors was mounted. The new board went about acquiring new assets for the group, including Knockdhu and Speyburn distilleries, and the Hankey Bannister brand.

The group continues on with five malt distilleries in its portfolio and now under Thai ownership. As for Garnheath, only its warehousing, blending and office facilities remain as Inver House’s headquarters in Airdrie.

GLEN FLAGLER DISTILLERY

LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Lightly peated, soft and fruity with a ‘surprisingly Speyside character’, Glen Flagler’s spirit was designed to complement Garnheath’s grain whisky in Inver House Distiller’s blends, though it has also frequently appeared as a single malt. Its first appearances were as official 5-year-old, 8-year-old and NAS bottlings during the 1970s and ‘80s, before a 30-year-old was released in 2003. A handful of expressions were also bottled by Signatory during the 1990s.

Glen Flagler was also once released as a ‘Pure Malt’ (blended malt).

Glen Flagler was one of several malt distilleries erected within grain distilling complexes during the 1950s/60s. It was founded in 1965 by Inver House Distillers – itself formed the preceding year by Philadelphia’s Publicker Industries – within the Moffat complex in Airdrie, also home to the vast Garnheath grain distillery.

The name Glen Flagler was not inspired by any Scottish glen, rather the distillery was named after Flagler Avenue in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Publicker’s owner, Simon Neuman, owned a home.

In its short 22-year life, the Moffat distilling complex was home to four or six copper pot stills (sources vary) that were technically divided into two Lowland malt distilleries, Glen Flagler and Killyloch, the latter of which also produced the heavily peated Islebrae single malt.

Glen Flagler’s malt was used for fillings for Inver House’s blends – Inver House, Mac Arthur’s and Pinwinnie, as well as bottling as an official single malt throughout the 1970s and early 80s.

Turmoil within Publicker Industries saw hard times hit Inver House Distillers, and production of Killyloch and Islebrae ceased during the 1970s. The company closed Glen Flagler in 1985, finally shutting down Garnheath the following year.

The site was demolished in 1988, although Moffat’s warehouses and blending and bottling facilities remain as Inver House Distillers’ headquarters.

KILLYLOCH

DISTILLERY & BRAND

Short-lived malt distillery incorporated into Airdrie’s Moffat complex beside Glen Flagler.

KILLYLOCH DISTILLERY

LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

This lightly-peated whisky was produced mainly as a filling for blends, and as such was never really officially bottled as a single malt aside from a 36-year-old released by Inver House in 2003. Due to its short lifespan, very little of Killyloch’s liquid remains in existence, though Inver House describes its as ‘light on peat, heavy in aromas, with a complex yet soft character, smooth with a citrus spicy finish’.

It’s said the distillery’s name came about after casks of spirit produced at this Lowland distillery were incorrectly stamped Killyloch, as opposed to Lilly Loch after its nearby water source.

Killyloch’s stills were incorporated into the Glen Flagler malt distillery in 1965. The two distilleries were situated within the Moffat complex in Airdrie alongside the Garnheath grain distillery as well as – later on – a blending and bottling operation plus the largest commercial maltings in Europe.

While Killyloch itself was a lightly-peated whisky, its stills also produced the heavily peated Islebrae.

Sadly it was never bottled as a single malt during its lifetime and its stills were decommissioned in the early 1970s. Glen Flagler and Garnheath followed suit in 1985/86, and the distillery buildings eventually bulldozed a few years later.

ISLEBRAE

LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Islebrae was the name given to the heavily peated Lowland malt whisky produced from Killyloch distillery’s stills. Having only been produced for little more than five short years, and with all its liquid destined for blends, it’s thought very little, if any, Islebrae exists today.

Inver House Distillers, a subsidiary of Philadelphia’s Publicker Industries, built the Moffat distilling complex in Airdrie in 1964/5 to produce malt and grain whisky for its blends.

The malt operation comprised of four or six stills (sources vary) – half produced the unpeated Glen Flagler, which was bottled as a single malt as well as in blends, while the others were designated a separate distillery called Killyloch.

Killyloch’s spirit was a lightly peated liquid earmarked for blending only, though its stills also produced the heavily peated whisky brand Islebrae. Again, Islebrae’s purpose was to provide a filling for blends, and was never bottled as a single malt.

Following a period of instability for the company, Killyloch’s stills were switched off in the early 1970s, with Glen Flagler’s following shortly after in 1985. The following year Garnheath was also closed, and Moffat’s grand distilling complex fell silent.

The distillery buildings were demolished by Inver House in 1988, though the site’s warehousing and blending and bottling facilities remain as part of the group’s headquarters.

International Beverage Holdings

2006 - present

Inver House Distillers

GLEN FLAGLER DISTILLERY

LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Glen Flagler was also once released as a ‘Pure Malt’ (blended malt).

GLEN FLAGLER HISTORY

The name Glen Flagler was not inspired by any Scottish glen, rather the distillery was named after Flagler Avenue in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Publicker’s owner, Simon Neuman, owned a home.

The site was demolished in 1988, although Moffat’s warehouses and blending and bottling facilities remain as Inver House Distillers’ headquarters