Cuvée presentation
A single cask of Convalmore 1977, aged for 26 years in sherry casks and bottled in 2003. Cadenhead was founded in Aberdeen in 1842 by George Duncan. William Cadenhead then joined the company and, when George Duncan died in 1858, took over and renamed the business after himself. William’s nephew Roberth Duthie developed the company in the early 20th century and it remained a family business until 1969. William Cadenhead Ltd was then sold to the Springbank distillery’s owner J. & A. Mitchell and Co. Hedley G. Wright, a direct descendent of Archibald and John Mitchell, became William Cadenhead Ltd’s CEO. In the past, Cadenhead had mainly sold its own brands, such as Putachieside, The Hielanman, Seven Stars and Green Label rums. Under Hedley G. Wright, the company began to take more of an interest in single malts. This led to the creation of the legendary collection of dumpy bottles in 1977. This series of single malts stood out for its very gentle filtration, lack of artificial colouring, and relatively high bottling strength for the time (80 proof/45.7% ABV). The labels included lots of information, including the month and year of distillation and bottling, and whether or not sherry casks were used. Also in 1977, the business moved to another address in Aberdeen, and finally to Campbeltown. In the 1980s, Cadenhead sold casks to legendary bottlers such as Samaroli and Corti Brothers through the subsidiary Duthie’s. Finally, two new whisky ranges were created in 1991 and 1992, the Original Collection bottled at 46% and the Authentic Collection bottled at cask strength. Other special series to mark Cadenhead’s major anniversaries (150 and 175 years), as well as new ranges launched since (Small Batch, World Whiskies, etc.), have all contributed to the company’s ongoing history up to the present day. A limited edition of 642 bottles.
The distillery Convalmore
The Convalmore distillery was built in 1894 in Dufftown, Speyside, in the final years of the whisky boom. Ten years later, the distillery came into the hands of W.P. Lowrie, bought by James Buchanan. Convalmore survived the Pattison Crisis by supplying Buchanan’‘s leading blend, Black & White, which was distributed internationally. Buchanan joined the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1925 and Convalmore was incorporated into its malt distilleries subsidiary, Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD). Like many distilleries, Convalmore’‘s production capacity was increased in the 1960s, but the distillery closed in 1985 in the midst of the Whisky Loch crisis. It was sold to William Grant & Sons and dismantled. A few bottlings of Convalmore are found in Diageo’‘s Rare Malts and Special Releases, and from independent bottlers. Fans appreciate its fruity and waxy character.
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