The
Glenkinchie Distillery
South and East of Edinburgh, where the high, green Lammermuir
Hills begin to roll more gently north towards the Firth of
Forth, lies the farming country of East Lothian. Although
it lies not twenty miles from Edinburgh's great castle and
the bustle of the Royal Mile, Glenkinchie's quiet surroundings
make this tranquil place seem more remote.
The barley the Rate brothers used was often grown
on land manured with local seaweed, ripened earlier and was
lighter than grain grown elsewhere - qualities soon prized
in the Lowland malts made from it. The draff from the distillery
long went to feed local cattle in the village of Pencaitland;
a prize winning Aberdeen Angus herd grew up on the Glenkinchie
Farm.
Glenkinchie
was finally rebuilt in the 1890s as the model Victorian distillery
village we know today – with its distinctive red brick
buildings, houses for workers and even a bowling green. Tradition
has its place here; for example, six wooden washbacks are
still used for fermentation, two made from Oregon Pine and
four from Canadian Larch.
Glenkinchie's
two fat old copper pot stills are also a distinctive feature,
among the largest in the industry and together producing 340,000
gallons annually. A single cast-iron worm tub cools the spirit,
in preference to a more modern condenser, giving a whisky
of greater character and depth.
Today, with just two Lowland distilleries left in
production, Glenkinchie™ is the undisputed champion
of the light Lowland style. With its interesting visitor center
and charming setting, this also makes an ideal first distillery
visit for today's tourists. And with more than 40,000 of them
visiting each year, Glenkinchie remains at the center of Pencaitland
life.
Senior Site Manager: Kay Fleming
Opening Times
January to Easter
Monday to Friday, 12 noon - 4pm.
April to October
Monday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm.
Sunday, 12 noon - 5pm.
November to December
Monday to Friday, 12 noon - 4pm.
(Closed from December 23rd through January 5th inclusive.)
Admission
Adults: £5.00 / This charge includes a discount voucher
which is redeemable in the distillery shop toward the purhcase
of a 750ml bottle of single malt whisky.
How to find your way to Glenkinchie Distillery on
public transport:
The 44B First Bus leaves Edinburgh City Centre (St. Andrew
Square) at twenty minutes to each hour the destination is
Pencaitland - in the village of Pencaitland get off the bus
at the petrol station/Spar Shop in the village and then it
is either a two mile walk to the distillery or contact the
local taxi on 01875 340805.
Contact
Glenkinchie Distillery
Pentcaitland, East Lothian
EH34 5ET Scotland
Telephone: +44 (0) 1875 342004
Fax: +44 (0) 1875 342007
Acres
of barley grow in this "Garden of Scotland", in
fields fed by water softly flowing down from the hills. The
agricultural revolution of the late 18th Century brought this
barley to East Lothian in place of coarse crops of little
use to distillers. Father of the Scottish agricultural revolution,
John Cockburn, pioneered some of the biggest changes locally
at Ormiston. Here at the heart of the farming community south
of Tranent, in the lee of the hills, farmers like the Rate
brothers learned from these experiments. 
somewhat fruity nose, almost dry after that, almost nonexistent finish…maybe some ginger right at the end… claims to be mildly peaty/smoky but I couldn’t detect it. May require a subtler palate than mine of may be, as one reviewer put it, just vanilla flavored alcohol. Unimpressive anyway.