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Two 40+ Year Old Scotch Single Grain Whisky Bottlings Surface

A pair of very rare and old Scotch single grain whisky expressions, 41 and 50 years of age, respectively, are debuted by independent bottlers.
  • Nino Kilgore-Marchetti, founder of The Whiskey Wash, is an award-winning whiskey journalist, expert, and judge
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Garnheath 1974
Garnheath 1974 (image via The Whisky Barrel)
Access to the really, really old Scotch whisky of yesteryear is something most drinkers seldom get the chance to try out, particularly given the rarity of barrels of spirit in the 40+ year range category. The few distilleries who have product this old don’t often release it directly, which leaves it to the independent bottlers to stumble across and put out as special offerings. Two new ones I’ve observed making the Scottish retail circuit are both Lowland Scotch single grain whisky bottlings which look pretty neat, if for nothing else but the fact they are quite ancient.

Garnheath 1974 41 Year Old

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The first, a 41 year old Scotch grain whisky, was bottled by independent bottler Morrison & MacKay as part of their Carn Mor “Celebration of the Cask” brand. It heralds from the obscure Garnheath distillery. This facility, according to the Scotch blog Still Dramming, was actually part of a much larger distillery complex and in of itself wasn’t much more than a footnote in whisky history, closing in 1986.

The single cask used for this release, from what I’ve been reading at a few different online whisky retailers, was an ex-bourbon barrel filled with Garnheath single grain back in 1974. What was left over after over four decades of maturation was pulled just last month, resulting in 144 bottles which clock in at 50.8% ABV. It is still being carried at a couple of different European shops, with pricing ranging between $400 and $500.

Girvan 1964 50 Year Old

Girvan 1964
Girvan 1964 (image via The Whisky Barrel)

Joining this 41 year old offering, in the meanwhile, is an even older 50 year old Lowland grain whisky bottling from Girvan which was laid down back in 1964, after this distillery had just barely been open , before being bottled this year. It was processed by independent bottler A.D. Rattray for the Whiskies of Distinction Vintage Cask Collection series and the only place I’ve found it for sale so far has it pricing for over $575.

Girvan, unlike Garnheath, is still very much in operation, with parent outfit William Grant & Sons making use of the distillery’s special “Patent Still Process” to produce some new whisky releases. This 50 year old bottling, while rare, isn’t the first single grain of this age range to be out there on the market, but given the buzz around current Girvan offerings it will likely be a popular one among collectors and the curious alike.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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