Teaninich

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > T

TEANINICH

14 years old

40 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1975
Bottled 1989
R.H. Thomson & Co (Distillers) Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

TEANINICH

10 years old

43%

FLORA & FAUNA
Distilled 1980
Bottled 1992
Teaninich Distillery, Alness, Rossshire

The Cromarty Firth is one of the few places in the British Isles inhabited by Porpoise. They can be seen quite regularly, swimming close to the shore less than a mile from Teaninich distillery. Founded in 1817 in the Ross—shire town of Alness, the distillery is now one of the largest in Scotland.

Teaninich is an assertive singe Malt Whisky with a spicy, smoky, satisfying taste.

TEANINCH

23 years old

57,1 %

RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1973
Bottles April 1997
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen
R.H. Thomson & Co, Edinburgh

Founded in 1817 by Captain Hugh Munro, this was one of Ross-shire8s first le¬gal distilleries. Demand was strong; four stills soon met it.

Today, this glorious bright gold 23 year old still made with water taken from the Dairwell Spring displays characteristic herbal, leafly aromas which lead onto a firm, smooth, full bodied, almost leathery malt with a robust, warming finish; an ideal restorative.

TEANINICH

27 years old

64.20 %

RARE MALTS SELECTION
Natural Cask Strenght
Distilled 1972
Bottled October 2000
Limited Edition
Genummerde flessen
R.H. Thomson & Co, Edinburgh

This warm gold 27 year old Northern Highlander's malty, buscuity aromas in¬troduce a big, rich, full bodied dram with sweet malt flavours and a long grassy peat-smoky finish - 'very appetising indeed'

TEANINICH

13 years old

46 %

CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distillation Date: December 1991
Bottling Date: December 2004
Cask Type: Refill Sherry Butt
R.H. Thomson (Distillers) Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

The small Highland village of Alness is home to two distilleries, Dalmore & Teaninich.

Established in 1817, a time when illicit distilling was rife, Teaninich was one of only four legal distilleries to survive.

The distillery has been in production almost continuously - stopped only for W W 2 and a short period during the 'whisky loch' years of the 1980s.

A rich, flavoursome Highland Malt.

TEANINICH

20 years old

43 %
1984
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 17/5/84
Bottled 3/3/05
Matured in a Refill Butt
Cask no. 03/88
Numbered Bottles
The Ultimate Whisky Company,   N.L

TEANINICH

22 years old

59,4 %
SIGNATORY   VINTAGE
CASK   STRENGHT   COLLECTION
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled on:   07/12/1983
Matured in a Refill Butt
Cask No:   8072
Bottled on: 29/03/2006
Numbered Bottles
466 Bottles
Natural Colour
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

TEANINICH

Aged 16 years

59.7 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled: February 1993
Cask Type: Refill Hogshead / ex Bourbon
1 of only 255 bottles
Society Single Cask: 59.39
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Gateway to Narnia"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release

as a Society bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain

and delight our members are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”

Despite green grapes, green malt and mint, the nose promises fudge – like sweetness;

one also finds paint and linoleum and water brings cinnamon and peaches. The palate

is chewy and mouth – coating, with treacle toffee, hot caramel fudge, nuts and peppery

spice.

The nose had green grape, green malt, hints of mint and promising fudge – like sweet-

ness; one panellist was with his Airfix paint pots; another was waiting expectantly, in

carpet slippers, on linoleum, under mistletoe. The palate was chewy and mouth – coating

with treacle toffee and hot fudge sundae (with nuts); white pepper tingled the finish.

The reduced nose had brown sugar, blackcurrant jam, cinnamon and tinned peaches –

in an old wardrobe, “gateway to Nardia!” said someone excitedly. The reduced palate

was even sweeter (caramel fudge) with a nice, long – lasting spicy heat.

The distillery built in 1817, has a very unusual mashing system

TEANINICH

46 %

2 0 0 4 Distilled
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
From Teaninich Distillery
Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled 2013
Natural Colour
Non Chill Filtered
Specially selected, produced
and bottled by Gordon & Macphail,
Elgin.

This particular expression from

Teaninich Distillery was matured

In Refill Sherry Casks. The whisky

is sweet and fruity with hints of

strawberries and orange. On the

palate chilli spice initially with

hints of stewed pear and milk chocolate.

TEANINICH

Aged 29 years

52.4 %
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
WHISKY FROM A SINGLE CASK
30th ANNIVERSARY CASK
1 9 8 3 - 2 0 1 3
STILL ONE OF A KIND
1 9 8 3 - 3 0 - 2 0 1 3
Date distilled 8th Nov 1983
Cask type Refill Hogshead / ex Bourbon
Society Single Cask no: 59.46
Outturn: One of only 194 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Jellybean Dream"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “TO LEAVE NO NOSE UPTURNED “.

This unusually old example of the make is mellow, with a fleeting trace of hemp ropes,

Then flap – jacks, granola breakfast cereal, fresh orange juice, apricot jam and maple

syrup, and aged base – notes of pencil box, planed oak and dunnage warehouse.

The taste is very sweet (honey) and mouth – coating, with a light oakiness and a dash

of allspice. When you add water, the aroma is of “hot toddy in a enamel mug”, with

new furniture ( a show house) and white jelly beans.

The latter come through in the taste, with a hint of planned oak and a long finish.

The owners recently announced that they are planning another mega – distillery close

to this one.

TEANINICH

Aged 30 years

54,9 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

FROM A SINGLE CASK

Date Distilled: 8th November 1983

Cask Type: Refill Hogshead/ ex Bourbon

Society Single Cask No: CODE 59.50

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,

The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh

Comfortable in the Chesterfield

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “TO LEAVE NO NOSE UPTURNED “

Persian rugs and a spice cupboard. Sink into the Chesterfield with a hot toddy, Camphor

and Tiger balm. Pine resin. Licking sandalwood polished with linseed oil. Pomegranate

And pencil boxes. Pressed flowers and white pepper in the finish

This invited the panel into an old house with evocative aromas of Persian rugs and a

spice cupboard. It coaxed them to sink into the Chesterfield with a hot toddy laced

with orange oil.

Delicate floral notes mingled with pine resin and pastry notes. The spice level at full

strenght was like licking sandalwood polished with linseed oil.

With water, plum sauce and more exotic spiciness developed. Pomegranate seeds

and pencil boxes. It had a velvety toffee texture and finished with pressed flowers

and white pepper in the finish

TEANINICH

Aged 31 years

51.6 %
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Date Distilled: 8th November 1983
Cask Type: Refill Hogshead / ex Bourbon
Outturn: One of Only 202 Bottles
Society Single Cask: CODE: 5 9. 5 3
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Mad Hatter's tea party"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “TO LEAVE NO NOSE UPTURNED “.

Rich and mellow fruits – wine gums, crystallised orange pee, cling peaches, beeswax,

tea biscuits and gingerbread. A rich, smooth texture and a taste of toasted marshmallows,

linseed oil, pancake batter and spice, finishing (at reduced strength) with mince pies.

A rich and mellow nose: wine gums, crystallized orange peel, cling peaches, beeswax.

Some panel members also noted rhubarb – lightly astringent – then ‘Rich Tea biscuits

dunked in stewed tea’, gingerbread manuka honey and a trace of star anice.

Rich and smooth to taste; sweet (toasted marshmallow on a stick), with tobacco and

chilli spice in the finish. Drier and more woody at reduced strength, with linseed oil,

melted butter with oats, ground – nut oil, pancake batter and spice.

The taste remains sweet, smooth and spicy. ‘Mango tea’ was mentioned with mixed

Dried fruits, as in Christmas mince pies.

TEANINICH

2007

10 years

46 %

Highland Single Malt

THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Distilled: 22/11/07

Matured in a Hogshead

Cask No: 702712

Bottled: 20/01/18

389 Numbered Bottles

Bottle No: 329

Natural Colour

Non Chillfiltered

Selected by The Ultimate Whisky Company, NL

The Northern Highlands
TEANINICH
(1817 - 1984 = B side mothballed

(1970 A side is built - 1985 mothballed)
(1991 - A side in production again
(1999 B side ontmanteld

Alness, Ross-shire. Licentiehouder: R.H. Thomson & Co, Ltd. Teaninich maakt deel uit van Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. De malt divisie van United Distillers Ltd. Eigendom van Guinness.

Gesticht in 1817 op verzoek van de lokale overheid, die het illegaal distilleren wilden laten ophouden en landeigenaren verzochten distilleerderijen te stichten om voor de boeren afzet voor hun geoogste gerst te garanderen.

Captain Hugh Munro, eigenaar van het landgoed Teaninich begon een distilleerderij en had het aanvankelijk heel zwaar door de concurentie van de illgale distilleerderijen, drie van vier legale distilleerderijen moesten sluiten.
Pas na het van kracht worden van de 'Excise Act' in 1823, waarbij de accijnzen aan merkelijk werden verlaagd, trad er een grote verbetering in.

In 1830 was de produktie dertig tot veertig maal hoger dan de jaren daarvoor.
In 1845 was Lieutenant General John Munro de eigenaar van Teaninich, een heel sociaal mens die de armen in zijn gebied dagelijks bezocht, van eten en medicijnen voorzag en zorgde dat er brandstof genoeg was om de winter warm door te komen

.
Lieutenant General Munro diende vele jaren in India en verleende een licentie aan Robert Pattison in 1850.
In 1869 was John McGilchrist Ross de licentiehouder. Ross gaf zijn licentie op in 1895.
Hij werd opgevolgd door Munro & Cameron. John Munro was een drankhandelaar en Robert Innes Cameron een whiskymakelaar.

De familie Munro droeg het kapitaal en de aandelen in 1898 over aan Munro & Cameron. In 1899 werd Teaninich voor een bedrag van E 10.000 gemoderniseerd en uitgebreid. In 1904 werd Innes Cameron de alleen eigenaar.

Innes Cameron was een invloedrijk man toen, met belangen in Benrinnes, Linkwood en Tamdhu, ook was hij directeur van de Malt Distillers Association.
Innes Cameron stierf, oud 72 jaar, in 1932 en zijn erfgenamen verkochten Teaninich in 1933 aan Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd.

Teaninich was gesloten gesloten de oorlogsjaren, van 1939 tot 1946.

In 1962 werd het ketelhuis vernieuw en uitgebreid van twee naar vier ketels.

In 1970 werd er een geheel nieuwe distilleerderij naast de oude gebouwd met zes ketels.

Dit gedeelte werd de 'A Side' genoemd, de oude distilleerderij werd 'B Side' genoemd.

De laatste werd in 1973 herbouwd.
In 1975 werd er een afdeling gebouwd om veevoeder te produceren.
De lagerpakhuizen werden in 1988 gesloopt.

Het proceswater komt van de Dairywell Spring op het Novar landgoed.
De Mash tun is 12 ton.
De acht Wash backs zijn elk 63.000 liter.
Teaninich heeft zes met stoom gestookte ketels, drie Wash stills van elk 16.000 liter en drie Spirit stills van elk 15.000 liter.
De capaciteit is 2,3 miljoen liter spirit per jaar.

North of Inverness, at the small village of Alness - home to Dalmore Distillery, also the lesser known distillery Teaninich is situated.
While Dalmore sits prominently on the shores of the Cromarty Firth, visble from the road- Teaninich is to be found hidden on the edge of the town, part of an industrial estate.

This anonymity suits Teaninich, there are no visitor facilities and the whisky has never been promoted as a Single Malt. However this should also not detract from Teaninich's enduring history. Established at a time when illicit distilling was rife, Teaninich (pronounced 'Te-an-inick') was one of only four legal distilleries to survive. The distillery has been in production almost continuously - it only stopped for W W 11 and a short period during the 'whisky loch' years of the 1980s.

Indeed, the whisky was in such demand that the distillery has seen numerous upgrades. From 1970 there were two distilleries on the site when a new still house was built. This was known as 'A Side' with the original distillery becoming 'B Side'. Both remained in production until the distillery was mothballed in the mid 1980s. When production recommenced in 1991 only the 'A Side' was utilised, the original 'B Side' buildings were demolished in 1999.

The distillery's output remains a blender's favourite and currently three million litres of alcohol are produced annually. Teaninich is a key component of Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch.
As you visit more and more distilleries, you look forard to seeing the subtle differences in each of their whisky making process. In general most things are the same, just a different size or shape - not at Teaninich.
You first notice that the mill looks different, not a roller mill such as a Porteous or Boby mill but an Asnong Hammer Mill. The malt is ground to a very fine grist by using revolving hammers to pound it against a perforated grate. Then the real changes become apparent.

The grist is then mixed with the first water in the 'Mash Conversion Vessel'. A vortex stirs the mash to the consistency of runny porridge. It is then transferred to a large Meura filter press where the mash is squeezed between 2oth plates and the wort is collected. A second water is then added through the filter and approximately 18.500 litres of wort are collected. The remaining liquid in the press is known as 'weak worts' and is collected for the next mash. The filter plates are then separated to allow the draff to be collected. This process takes place three times to fill one wash back, with each 'pressing' taking two hours to complete.

Although mash filters have been used in breweries for over 100 years, the distilling industry has remained loyal to the mash tun. There are a number of advantages: efficient extraction of fermentable sugars, the filter can handle 'problem' malt which would cause process problems in a conventional distillery, few moving parts, less mechanical wear and quick turnover times.
Time will tell if the mash filter will be deemed a succes and introduced in other distilleries. It is certainly one of the most unique features to be encountered in visiting Teaninich.
Water source: Dairywell spring
Malt Source:Glen Ord Maltings
Malt Type:Optic - onpeated
Malt Storage: 12 x 30t Malt bins
Mill Type: Asnong Hammer mill
Grist Storage:4T
Mash Tun Construction:Mash filter
Mash Size:3 x 4T mashes
No. of Wash Backs:8
Wash Back Contruction: Larch
Wash Back Capacity: 60.000L
Yeast: Distillers
No. of Wash Stills: 3
Wash Still Charge: 17.500L
Heat Source: Steam pans
Wash Still Shape: Ball
No. of Spirit Stills: 3
Spirit Still Charges: 15.600L
Heat Source: Steam coils
Spirit Still Shape: Ball
Current Annual
Distillery Ourput (2005): 3m litres of alcohol
Cask storage : Nil

1817

Founded by Captain Hugh Munro,

owner of the Teninich Estate
1845

Distilling passes to Lieutenant-General

John Munro, a renowned benefactor

of the local poor
1850

Munro is posted on service to India

for many years, and leases the

distillery to Robert Pattison to operate

in his absence
1869

The lease on Teanich distillery is

passed on to John McGilchrist Ross
1887

Alfred Barnard describes it as the

only distillery north of Inverness that

is lit by electricty - 'besides which it

possesses telephonic communication

with the Prprietor's resicence and the

quarters of the Excise Officers
1895

John McGilchrist Ross gives up the

distillery tenancy and is succeeded

by a part-nership of John Munro, a

spirit merchant and

Robert Innes Cameron, a whisky

broker, both from Elgin
1898

Munro & Cameron buys the distillery
1904

Robert Innes Cameron becomes sole

proprietor of the Teanich distillery.

He also owns substantial interest in

several Highland distillery companies,

including Benrinnes, Linkwood and

Tamdhu, and later became

chairman of the Malt Distillers Association

1932

Robert Innes Camron dies aged 72,

in Elgin. He had been an influential

and wellrespected figure, and among the
funeral wreaths is one from his friend, Prime
Minister Ramsay MacDonald.

1933

Teanich is sold to Scottish Malt Distillers

Ltd by the trustees of Robert Innes
1939-1946 The distillery is closed as

a result of wartime restrictions on the

supply of barley to distillers
1962

The stillhouse is refitted.

The steam engine and the two water

wheels are discarded in favour of

electricity, two additional stills introduced,

and internal heating by steam replaced

by coal burning furnaces
Demand for Teanich continues to grow,

1970

and a new stillhouse with six additional

stills begin production, known as the A side

and works in tadem with the old distillery

till 1997

1973

The milling, mashing and fermentation

part of the old distillery are rebuilt
1975

Dark grains plant is built

1984

The B side is mothballed

1985

The A side is mothballed

1991

Distillery's A side reopened by

U D V

1992

U.D. released a 10 year

old in the Flora & Fauna Series

1999

The B side is decommosioned

2000

Mash filter installed

2009

Teaninich 1996 a SC in the Manager's

Choice is released

2015

Teaninich expanded with six stills

and capacity is doubled

2017

A 17 year old in the Special Releases

Series released

2020

Capacity: 10.200.000 Ltrs

Output: 4.000.000 Ltrs

2021

Teaninich is closed

2022

teaninich is open again

Captain Hugh Munro, owner of the Teaninich estate, founded the distillery on his own land in 1817. The Customs and Excise were pursuing, at that time, a campaign to stamp out illicit distilling, which used up the entire barley crop in many parishes of Ross-shire, thereby posing a threat of famine. So the Commissioners of Supply, the forerunners of the County Council, urged landlords to set up legal distilleries to provide an alternative outlet for farmers and a better end-product. At first, the hold of the illicit distillers over the markets for grain and whisky proved too strong to break. Three of the four legal distilleries built in Ross-shire went out of business; but, as Munro told a parliamentary enquiry in the 1830's, "I continued to struggle on". After the Excise Act of 1823 reduced the fiscal burdens on legal distillers, "an extraordinarychange was soon perceived". Teaninich's output had increased thirty or forty times over by 1830.

Teaninich Distillery was later carried on under Lieutenant-General John Munro, an exemplary landlord, at least in respect of his benefactions to the poor. "Not confining himself to mere pecuniary contributions", the New Statistical Account of Scotland reported in 1845, "he ad-ministers to their relief by daily personal visits, by supplying them with medicines, distributing among them meals and other provisions, and by providing them with fuel during the rigour of the winter season".

General Munro was absent for many years on service in India. He granted a lease of the distillery to Robert Pattison in 1850. The next lessee, John McGilchrist Ross, succeeded about 1869, and was in charge when Alfred Barnard, author of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, 1887, paid a flying visit. Barnard wrote that Teaninich was "beautifully situated on the margin of the sea, and about one and a half miles from the station". It consisted of "several ranges of substantial buildings which, together with the manager's house, workmen's cottages and farmsteadings, give it the appearance of a small colony... Teaninich is the only distillery north of Inverness that is lighted by electricity; besides which it possesses telephonic communication with the proprietor's residence and the quarters of the excise officer."
Ross gave up the tenancy in 1895, when he was succeeded by Munro & Cameron, of Elgin. John Munro, a spirit merchant, and Robert Innes Cameron, a whisky broker, were the senior and junior partners in this firm, to which the Munro family conveyed the whole of the distillery capital, and all its assets, in 1898. A trade paper reported in 1899 that Munro & Cameron had spent "not much less than £0" in extending and refitting Teaninich. "Every vessel about the place is new, and just now the malt barns are being finished".

Innes Cameron became the sole proprietor of Teaninich in 1904. He already owned substantial interests in Highland distillery companies, including Benrinnes, Linkwood and Tamdhu, and in the course of time became chairman of the Malt Distillers Association. All of his life, except for his boyhood in the coastal village of Hopeman, where he was loved and revered, was spent in Elgin, where he died, aged 72, in 1932. A year later, his trustees sold Teaninich to Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd.

Some of the buildings had impressed a visitor in 1925 as being rather primitive. Both malting floors consisted of solid clay. The "vital machinery", - however, was "sound and efficient". There was "an immense mash-tun" capable of mashing 500 bushels of malt at a time, and representing "the last word in modernity". There were four stills, of which one pair was later described as being very small.
Teaninich closed in 1939, as a result of wartime restrictions on the supply of barley to distillers. When it restarted in 1946, the smaller pair of stills was removed. At this time, a steam engine provided the power needed for loading and unloading the malt kiln, conveying malt to the mill, and working the mill and the stirrers in the mash tun. A large water wheel, fed from the dam, was available to take over the work of the steam engine, and a small water wheel, fed from the overflow of the worm tanks, used to operate the rummager in the wash still.The steam engine and both water wheels were discarded in favour of electric power when the stillhouse was refitted in 1962. The number of stills was increased from two to four, and internal heating by steam replaced heating by coal-burning furnaces. An entirely new distillation unit, with six additional stills, all steam-heated, began production in 1970, making Teaninich one of the largest of SMD's distilleries. The new unit was named "A Side". The milling, mashing and fermentation part of the old distillery ("B Side") was rebuilt three years later. A plant for the production of dark grains, a high-protein animal feedingstuff, from the solid matter left over from the mashing and distillation processes, was built in 1975.
Process and cooling water are drawn from Dairywell Spring, on the Novar Estate, where SMD has water rights. The distillery occupies a site of approximately 20 acres (9 hectares). SMD owns 13 houses for occupation by employees.

The licensed distillers are R.H. Thomson & Co. (Distillers) Ltd., Edinburgh, proprietors of Robbie Burns and other blended Scotch whiskies sold mainly in export markets.

October 2005
Diageo has announced that its 2005 Annual Rare Malts Selection will be the last.
The collection will consist of four cask strenght single malts from closed distilleries; Glen Mhor 28 years old, Millburn 35 years old, Glendullan 26 years old and Linkwood 30 years old.
Dr. Nicholas Morgan, global malts marketing director commented: 'As the Special Releases are now well established, it makes less sence to continue selecting and promoting a parallel series of Rare Malts with his own separate indentity'.
In future, all premium and rare whiskies will be made available in the annual Special Releases series.

April 2013
Diageo has named Teaninich near Alness as the location for its plans to build a new 50 million pound new malt whisky distillery and will be adjacent the existing Teaninich distillery
but will have its own name and indentity and will have the capacity to produce 13 million
litres of spirit p[er annum from its 16 stills.

Diageo also invest 12 million pound in expanding the Teaninich distillery to almost doubless capacity.

The site will also feature a bio - energy plant.
The work will begin in 2014.

Diageo also will invest in Mortlach distillery in building a new still house and an other invest-
ment will be at Glendullan distillery to process co products in an anaerobic digestion process,

producing bio - gas which will be used to power the Glendullan distillery.

There are also expansion and upgrade developments for more then 40 million pound in
Linkwood, Mannochmore, Glendullan, Dailuaine, Benrinnes, Inchgower, Cragganmore,
Glen Elgin, Glen Ord and in a new bio - energie plants in Glenlossie and Dailuaine.

Also new warehouse are build at Cluny near Kirkcaldy.
And at Talisker a new visitor centre is build for a 1 million pound.

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been
passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-
lease as a Society bottling.

1817
Captain Hugh Munro, Owner of the
Teaninch Estate, starts a distillery
1831
Captain Hugh Munto sells Teaninich
distillery to his brother John
1850
John Munro, who lives mostly in
India, gives a lease to Robert
Pattison from Leith
1869
John McGilchrist takes over the licence
1895
Munro & Cameron takes over the licence
1898
Teaninich is bought by Munro & Cameron
1904
Robert Innes Cameron becomes sole owner
1932
Robert Innes Cameron dies
1933
The Estate of Robert Innes Cameron sells
Teaninich distillery to the Distillers Com-
pany Limited. (D.C.L.)
1970
New distillery is build with six stills and
becomes known as the A side
1975
A dark grains plant is built
1984
The B side of Teaninich is mothballed
1985
The A side is also mothballed
1991
The A side produces again
1992
United Distillers launches a 10 year old
in the Flora & Fauna series
1999
The B side is decommissioned
2000
A mash filter is installed
2009
Teaninich 1996, single cask is released
In the Manager's Choice series

Teaninich Distillery was closed from 1939 - 1946.

In 1946 Teaninich started production with 2 of its 4 stills, 2 smaller stills were removed.
Process- and cooling water comes from Dairy Spring on the Norvar Estate.
The Malt is crushed to grist by an Asnong Hammer Mill and this one is the only one in the
industrie and makes a more powery grist than the Porteus and Boby Mills.

An other future at Teaninch is the mashing process, introduced in 2000, common in the
brewing industrie but unique in the whisky industrie: no mash tun is used, instead the grist
is mixed with first water in the Mash Conversion Vessel, and then a vortex stirs the mash to
the consistence of a watery porridge, which is then transferred to a Meura filter press
where the wort is collected, then the second water through the filter and the remaining
liquid is called weak worts and is returned as water for the next wash.

Filter plates are then separated to allow the draft te be collected. This process takes 3 times
to fill one wash back with each pressing taking 2 hours to complete.

In 1962 the still house was updated and 2 stills were added, coal firing was removed and
from now on the 4 stills were indirect heated.

In 1973 - 1974 milling. Ashing and fermentation facilities were rebuilt and integrated in
with the old facility also as ä distillery within a distillery".

That became Teaninich Side B.

In 1969 a new complex was added: Teaninic A, with 12 stills, indirectly heated.

In 1973 the floor malting was abandoned and in 1975 a dark grains plant was build.

Teaninich B was mothballed in June 1984 and closed in 1 October the same year.

Teaninich A was closed in 31 March 1985.

Teaninich A was in production again in 1991 and the old Teaninich B complex was demo-
lished in 1999.

Wash backs: 8 wooden made from Scottish larch eack 60.000 litres
3 Wash stills and 3 Spirit stills onion shaped wit a boiling ball and very short, thick necks

The new 6 six stills were installed in 1969 - 1970, with indirect heating by oil firing with
steam pans in the Wash stills and steam coils in the Spirit stills.

The Wash stills are each 17.500 litres, the Spirit stills each 15.600 litres.

Cooling is performed by shell and tube condensers.

Teaninich B had first a set of the same type and size as Teaninich A and also a secondary
pair. This pair was drum shaped with straight sides and in volume a little bit larger than
the primary stills. They were converted from manual coal firing to mechanical and in
1962 to indirect heating by oil firing.

Output maximum was 3000.000 litres of spirit a year, and 6.000.000 litres when A and B
side were in full production.

Warehouses have a capacity of 7000 casks,

Most of the production goes into blended whiskies: Johnnie Walker, Haig, vat 69, Robert Burns and Drambuie the whisky liqueur.

In 2000 a hammer mill and mash filter – the only one operational in a Scottish malt distillery – was installed at Teaninich. The use of the technology, which removes the need for a mash tun, was to produce ultra-clear wort, giving a clue as to the Teaninich distillery character: a fragrant exotic grassiness that brings to mind Japanese green tea and coumarin-rich bison grass. Fat stills also add a distinct oiliness to the texture while not blunting any of its penetrating acidity.

A 12-year-old is part of Diageo’s Flora & Fauna series and there are occasional releases from independent bottlers.

Built in 1817, Teaninich was an early legal distillery, but as it was built by Napoleonic war hero and estate owner ‘Blind’ Captain Hugh Munro that’s no more than you would expect. He and his brother General John Munro were notable as being benign and caring landlords in a region which was brutally hit by the Highland Clearances [see Clynelish].

Another local man, John Ross, took the lease in 1869 and ran the site until 1895 when it was transferred to Elgin-based blenders Munro & Cameron. It was the trustees of the late Innes Cameron who sold Teaninich to DCL in 1933.

It has undergone regular expansion – larger stills were installed in 1946, before the pair were doubled in 1962. In 1970 a new distillery, Teaninch ‘A Side’, with six stills was built. The two parts ran simultaneously until 1984, when the original site (‘B Side’) was silenced.

The same thing is about to happen all over again. Teaninich’s capacity is due to double to 9m litres per annum and there are plans to build a separate 10m litres per annum distillery on the same site.

CONDENSER TYPE i

Shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

Minimum 75hrs

FILLING STRENGTH i

63.5%

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

Non peated

MALT SUPPLIER i

Mainly in house

MASH TUN TYPE i

Mash filter

NEW-MAKE PHENOL LEVEL i

Non peaty

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

68-69%

SPIRIT STILL CHARGE (L) i

15,600

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Ball

STILLS i

WASH STILL CHARGE (L) i

18,300

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Ball

WASHBACK TYPE i

Wood

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Dairy Well Spring

WORT CLARITY i

Clear

YEAST TYPE i

Pressed

Diageo

1997 - present

United Distillers

1986 - 1997

Distillers Company Limited

1933 - 1986

Robert Innes Cameron

1904 - 1933

John Munro and Robert Innes Cameron

1895 - 1904

John Ross

1869 - 1895

Robert Pattison

1850 - 1869

The Munro family

1817 - 1850

A 12-year-old is part of Diageo’s Flora & Fauna series and there are occasional releases from independent bottlers.

CONDENSER TYPE i

Shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

Minimum 75hrs

FILLING STRENGTH i

63.5%

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

Non peated

MALT SUPPLIER i

Mainly in house

MASH TUN TYPE i

Mash filter

NEW-MAKE PHENOL LEVEL i

Non peaty

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

68-69%

SPIRIT STILL CHARGE (L) i

15,600

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Ball

STILLS i

WASH STILL CHARGE (L) i

18,300

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Ball

WASHBACK TYPE i

Wood

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Dairy Well Spring

WORT CLARITY i

Clear

YEAST TYPE i

Pressed

A 12-year-old is part of Diageo’s Flora & Fauna series and there are occasional releases from independent bottlers.

HUGH MUNRO: THE BLIND CAPTAIN

Captain Hugh Munro’s fame comes in many forms: his war wounds and his refusal to be cowed by them; his foundation of Teaninich distillery; and his part in an unrequited and ultimately tragic love story.

In many ways, Captain Hugh Munro (1770-1846) was a typical early 19th-century distillery owner – a landowner and agricultural improver who built Teaninich distillery in Easter Ross to provide additional income from his estate and a ready market for the grain grown by his tenants. But in one respect he was entirely atypical.

Born in 1770, Munro was the son of Royal Navy Captain James Munro, Laird of Teaninich, and inherited the estate after his father’s death in 1788.

Like so many of his neighbours, he joined the 78th Highlanders during the wars with Revolutionary France, but his military career was a short one. During a skirmish near the city of Nijmegen in 1794, a musket ball struck Hugh in the side of the head, passing behind the bridge of his nose before exiting on the other side. The projectile pierced both of his eyeballs.

The loss of his sight would have been a serious blow for any young man to come to terms with, but Munro suffered further distress on his return to Scotland.

Before joining the Army, he had been engaged to Jane, the daughter of a local landowner, General Sir Hector Munro.

The General withdrew his consent to the marriage after learning of Hugh’s apparently debilitating wounds, and an attempt to arrange an elopement was abandoned when Jane announced that she could not bring herself to defy her father’s wishes. Not long afterwards, she married a wealthy local landowner.

To Hugh’s great credit, he refused to be disheartened by disability and romantic disappointment. Instead, he set about the challenges of managing his Teaninich estate with boundless energy and enthusiasm.

One of his first projects was to demolish part of the old Teaninich Castle and to remodel it. He supervised the work personally, alarming the workmen by clambering fearlessly along planks and scaffolding, and pacing out the rooms to make sure they were built to the correct dimensions.

Hugh lived life to the full in his new home. He was, they say, ‘an extremely handsome person, good-tempered and courteous’, who wore large green-tinted spectacles to hide his empty eye sockets from public view.

He was a talented musician, but he also enjoyed more energetic pursuits. His groom was instructed always to go on ahead of him when he went out horse-riding, so that he could warn of any obstacles in the way of the sightless laird, who rode hard at the gallop.

Local legend also has it that he had a fling with one of the servants at Teaninich Castle, leading to the birth of a daughter.

Hugh Munro’s active social life was accompanied by the tireless promotion of schemes to promote the economic prosperity of his estates. The first steps involved laying out the village of Alness and granting long leases to a variety of craftsmen and traders, to promote the development of industrial and commercial activity there.

Hugh was eager to follow other landowners in promoting whisky distilling. Distilleries provided a strong demand for local barley, and yielded high-quality animal feed and fertiliser as by-products of the distilling process.

Whisky was easier to transport to markets than was grain, and it was a ‘value-added’ product that fetched a cash price in an era when bartering was still common in rural areas.

And Hugh believed that the establishment of a licensed distillery would have the addiitional attraction of improving the morals of the people who lived on the estate.

Easter Ross was a hotbed of illicit distillation in the early 1800s, and landowners came under pressure to prevent their tenants from making whisky illicitly.

Hugh knew that the best way to prevent his tenant farmers from becoming involved in the smuggling trade was to provide them with an alternative local market for their grain.

So, in November 1817, he built the Teanininch distillery and equipped it with two stills of 187 and 100 gallons capacity, at the then-considerable cost of £1,400.

By the end of 1822, he had 4,000 gallons of whisky in his warehouse, more than half the total he had manufactured over the previous year, in an age when whisky was customarily sold straight from the still. Most of his customers were in Glasgow and Leith.

Open for business: An early ad for Teaninich whisky, taken from The Scotsman, 8 November 1823

Like many Highland distillers, Hugh was infuriated by the Excise laws which discouraged honest businessmen from setting up distilleries, and which effectively encouraged others to make whisky illicitly to meet the growing popular demand for the spirit.

In 1821 he complained that none of the public houses in nearby Dingwall was selling whisky from a licensed distillery.

Hugh created national headlines the following year when he told a Parliamentary Commission that not one of the 20 public houses in the town of Tain had ordered whisky from a licensed distillery during the previous 12 months – the implication being that they sold only smuggled ‘mountain dew’.

He was delighted by the passing of the Excise Act late in 1823, which made it easier to set up and run a distillery business in the Highlands and was accompanied by stiffer penalties for those caught distilling illegally.

Teaninich prospered under the new Excise regime, and became a key industry on the estate. By then, however, Hugh had decided to take a back seat.

In 1819 he sold Teaninich Castle to his brother, General John Munro, and retired to live in the dower house in the castle gardens. His brother inherited the distillery when Hugh died in 1846.

Now, romantic souls will say that this is all very well, but what happened to Hugh’s former fiancée after she was forced to break off their engagement? As fans of early 19th-century English literature might have guessed, there was a tragic ending to the story.

Although the fair Jane married another, she always carried a torch for her first love and watched from afar as he lived his life to the full.

She never spoke to him again but, when she fell seriously ill and knew her life was near its close, she asked to be taken to their parish church, to catch a last glance of Hugh sitting on the pews reserved for him and members of his family.

In the words of a local historian:

‘When she saw the Captain being led into the Teaninich balcony, wearing his distinctive green glasses, Jane collapsed and died soon after.

From: Jack Smith, Keeper of the Quaich, Certified Specialist of Spirits

President Metro Atlanta Scotch Club

eMail: Jack@AtlantaScotchClub.com

Pronunciation: "tee - NI - nick" or "chee-ANN - in - nick"

SWA Whisky Map Location:# 43

Translation: "The House on the moors"

Established: 1817

Founder: Captain Hugh Munro, owner of Teaninich estate,

founded the distillery on his own land in 1817.

Teaninich Distillery was then run by Lieutenant General John Munro.

General Munro was absent for years due assignment in India

he granted a lease of the distillery to Robert Pattison in 1850.

The next lessee John McGilchrist Ross, who succeeded in 1869,

was in charge when Alfred Barnard ( The Whisky Distilleries of the

United Kingdom published in 1887) paid a brief visit.

Ross gave up the tenancy in 1895 and was succeeded by

Munro & Cameron of Elgin (John Munro, a spirit merchant,

and Robert Innes Cameron, a whisky broker)

Cameron became the sole proprietor of Teaninich from 1904

to his death in 1932, when the trustees

sold the distillery to Scottish Malt Distillers (now known as Diageo PLC)

Status: Active / Producing

Region (District): Highlands (Northern)

Location: On a campus shared with Alness Distillery

(which will begin producing in 2015)

a little north of Inverness, near Dalmore distillery.

Neighbours: Alness, Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Balblair,

Invergordon Grain Distillery

House Style: Grassy, spicy and sometimes with a

dry moorish smoke

Water Source: Dairywell Spring on ( or just below )

the Novar Estate ( process water): has acces to

Averon River water and other local springs ( cooling water).

Barley: Optic (from Glen Ord Maltings)

Malt Spec (Phenols) : 0 - ppm (Unpeated)

Hammer Mil: Asnog Hammer Mill is used to pulverize

the entire grain (including husks)

Mashing Equipment: The Mashtun was replaced in 2000

by a "Mash Conversion Vessel" and "Meura 2001 Malt Filter Press

"( 14 ton) producing 50.000+ litres of wort (2014 - 15 up - grades)

This expensive but efficient (high yield system produces a clear wort,

InchDairnie also uses it.

Washbacks: 20 , 18 Larch and 2 of stainless steel @ 60.000 -

L (charged @ 50.000 + litres)

Fermentation: 75 hours (currently running 16 mashes

( 4 - tons ) per week).

Yeast: Distillers Yeast

Stills: Wash Stills 6, @ 17.500 - L (charged @ 16.500 -

L, Spirit Stills 6, @ 15.600 - L ( charged @ 15.600 - L

Middle Cut: 71 % to 63 %

Average Strenght of New Make: 69 % ABV

Casks: ex - Bourbon & ex - Sherry ; Refill

Warehouse: No on - site Wh's

Vatting & Bottling: Tankered to Diageo's centralized plant

for filling and off - site maturation

Capacity: 10.2 Mlpa per year 9 after july 20141- - April 2015 expansion)

Current Output: 9,8 Mlpa (scheduled for 2017)

Owner ( Parent ): Diageo Scotland Ltd. (Diageo plc).

Robert Innes Cameron estate sold to DCL in 1933, Diageo plc since 1998.

Visitor Center / Tours: No

(unless you are able to get an appointment in advance)

OB's: Few and seldom: 10 year Flora & Fauna (released in 1992),

1996 vintage "Manager's Choice"single cask ( released in 2009) and 17 year

Manager's Choice"(released in 2017)

Blending Role: 1 % single Malt, 99 % Blends

Blend Partner: Johnnie Walker (Black & Red) some for Dimple, Vat 69 and Haig

Management Team: Senior Site Manager: Kirsty Dagnan, "

Site Operations Manager: Diane Farrel, Site Operations

Manager: Willie MacDougall, Ceo Ivan Menezes (Diageo plc).

Legal Name of Distillery: Scottish malt Distillers Ltd of Teaninich

Owner Parent: Diageo Scotland Ltd (Diageo olc, since 1997)

Distiller Licensee: R.H.Thomson & Co (Distillers) Ltd

A WHISKY HISTORY OF EASTER ROSS

The roots of whisky go deep in Easter Ross, home of fabled Ferintosh and now the location of a diverse collection of distilleries, including Glenmorangie, Dalmore and Balblair. Iain Russell outlines the region’s chequered whisky history.

Balblair was one of only two legal distilleries in Easter Ross to outlast the 1820s

Once upon a time, long before people talked of Speyside and the other famous whisky regions, there was Ferintosh.

During the 1700s, Ferintosh became the popular generic name for good Highland whisky, much as Glenlivet was to become a century later. The name disappeared from the whisky market long ago; nevertheless, the legacy of Ferintosh was to have a profound influence on the social and economic history of Easter Ross, the broad and fertile coastal plain which includes the famous Black Isle peninsula and lies to the north of Inverness. And Easter Ross remains one of the most diverse, if under-appreciated, whisky-producing regions of Scotland today.

In the 18th century, it was said that more whisky was made in the 16 distilleries on the Ferintosh Estate, near Dingwall, than in the whole of the rest of Scotland. Such was its mythical status that the 17th-century traveller Martin Martin reported:

‘The children of Ferintosh… are taught in their infancy to drink aquavitae and are never observed to be troubled with worms.’

Its praises were sung by some of the most influential figures in 18th-century Scottish culture, including Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

The lands of Ferintosh had been virtually exempted from excise duty in 1690, as compensation to the local laird for damages done to the estate by Jacobite soldiers during the so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’.

The advent of rail helped distilleries such as Glenmorangie to prosper

The exemption encouraged the development of a thriving distilling industry, and the historian Ian Mowat estimated that about 1,000 people were employed in distilling there at its peak.

The ending of the privilege in 1784 did not put a stop to whisky making – it simply encouraged distillers to continue making ‘Ferintosh’ elsewhere in the region, either with or (more usually) without an excise licence.

The growth of the illicit whisky industry in the early 19th century had serious social consequences for Easter Ross. It created a climate of lawlessness in which a large part of the population became involved in the manufacture or sale of illicit spirits.

Excise raids uncovered unlicensed stills and casks of illicit whisky hidden under beds, in middens and in privies in houses all across the region. Local newspapers regularly carried stories of violent confrontations between excisemen and whisky ‘free traders’, in towns as well as in the countryside.

Meanwhile, local landowners, including the Sheriff of Ross-shire himself, were accused of failing to punish unlicensed distillers and dealers (who were often their tenants or their customers) when they appeared in the local courts.

It was that said that more offenders were prosecuted in Dingwall than anywhere else in Scotland – and the town became home to ‘swarms of lawyers’, attracted by the plentiful demand for their services.

Those not involved in the illegal manufacture of whisky were very often engaged in its sale and consumption, and local newspapers carried startling tales of drunkenness and depravity.

Production at Balblair was moved to benefit from the railway

Captain Hugh Munro, owner of Teaninich distillery, complained that even the public houses in Dingwall and Tain, the largest towns in the area, sold only smuggled whisky to their customers.

Illicit whisky makers easily undercut the prices of the dozens of new licensed distillers, driving the latter out of business to the extent that only two – Balblair (founded in 1790) and Teaninich (1821) – remained active by the end of the 1820s.

It took until the 1830s for the excise authorities to stamp out illicit distilling in all but the more remote parts of Easter Ross, and for entrepreneurs to invest once more in licensed distilleries. Glen Ord was founded in 1838 and Dalmore the following year – both by landowners seeking to develop the demand for their tenants’ barley.

Glenmorangie was established at Morangie Farm in 1843 by William Matheson, an experienced distiller who had learned his trade at Balblair and knew how profitable it could be to combine farming and distilling.

Initially, the licensed distillers sold their spirits primarily to local customers. In 1864, however, the forerunner of the Highland Railway connected all the distilleries in the area to Inverness and the south. Highland whisky from Easter Ross soon found its way to all parts of the UK, and was shipped to customers overseas in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

New look: Teaninich is one of the distilleries in the region to be expanded in recent years

The opening of new markets led to a boom in the industry in Easter Ross in the late 19th century. Balblair was rebuilt in 1872; Dalmore doubled in size in 1874 and was extended again in 1894; Glenmorangie was rebuilt in 1887; and Glen Ord was rebuilt by new owners after 1896 to four times the size of the original.

A new distillery, Ben Wyvis (subsequently renamed Ferintosh) was founded near Dingwall in 1879, and Glenskiach, at Evanton, in 1896.

But the good times did not last…

The Easter Ross distilleries suffered years of hardship in the first half of the 20th century, during two World Wars and one of the deepest worldwide recessions in history.

All were mothballed for various periods, but only Ferintosh and Glenskiach failed to reopen. The others recovered with the blended Scotch whisky boom that followed the Second World War, and with the growing interest in single malts from the 1970s.

A different kind of whisky distilling came to Easter Ross in the early 1960s, with the opening of a new grain distillery – the first in the Highlands, and the largest in Europe.

Invergordon distillery was conceived as a bold initiative to help alleviate unemployment in the town and to support the ailing farming industry of the eastern Highlands. Invergordon (which briefly included a single malt distillery, Ben Wyvis) grew rapidly to employ, at its peak, 400 men and women.

Glen Wyvis is reviving the regional tradition of small-scale whisky making

The success of Invergordon encouraged the location of other industries in the area, permitting much-needed diversification in the local economy. It also provided further demand for high-quality malting barley, encouraging farmers to specialise in the crop.

Two farmer-owned co-operatives were set up – The Black Isle Grain Group, in 1977, and Easter Ross Grain, in 1988 – to develop local resources and expertise. They amalgamated in the 1990s to create Highland Grain Ltd, which has established Easter Ross’ reputation as a centre of excellence in the production and supply of this vital whisky ingredient.

Today, the industry in Easter Ross continues to grow and develop. There have been major expansion projects in recent years at Glen Ord, Teaninich and Glenmorangie. At Invergordon, owner Whyte & Mackay has announced an ambitious modernisation programme, albeit including a number of redundancies.

Meanwhile, there are signs of a revival of the ‘Ferintosh’ tradition of small-scale whisky production: Heather Nelson is building the Toulvaddie Distillery at Fearn, near Nigg, and the crowdfunded and energy self-sufficient GlenWyvis, near Dingwall, opened in 2017 and promises to become one of the leading and most innovative lights in the new wave of Scottish ‘craft’ distilleries