Company type | Limited company |
---|---|
Industry | Beverages |
Founded | 1938 (Glasgow) |
Headquarters | Huntly, Scotland |
Key people | Shawn Smith (Director) |
Products | Alcoholic beverages: spirits |
Number of employees | 28 (2015) |
Website | www |
Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited is an independent alcoholic beverages company based in Huntly, Scotland. It is a specialist whisky merchant with one of the largest privately held collections of aged single malt and single grain Scotch whisky casks. Today, the company releases these prized spirits via an impressive range of award-winning product brands, all bottled at its headquarters in Huntly.
The brands include The Rarest, Duncan Taylor Single Cask, The Octave, Black Bull, Indian Summer, Smokin' and Tantalus.
Duncan Taylor was founded in Glasgow in 1938 as a cask broker and trading company. Over the decades, the company built strong ties with distillers and distilleries over Scotland, with the company bringing their own casks to the distilleries to be filled with new make spirit. This resulted in a collection of cask whiskies distilleries – many of which are now closed – which are still maturing in the Duncan Taylor warehouses today.
The company was acquired by Euan Shand in 2001, whose experience in the industry has included stints at the Glendronach distillery, William Teacher's & Sons, and founding and running The Bennachie Whisky Company. Euan subsequently moved Duncan Taylor to his home town of Huntly, acquired a facility in the town which he converted to a bottling plant, and established Duncan Taylor as an independent bottling company.
In April 2024 a new chapter began for Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Ltd. Shawn Smith was announced as the new Director and owner following the retirement of Chairman Euan Shand. Shawn brings a wealth of experience in technology finance and whisky and will continue the mantel as a family-owned business where Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky has amassed an impressive portfolio of vintage and rare scotch whisky casks.
Duncan Taylor has a portfolio of brands. Including:
Gin
Rum
Blended Scotch Whisky
| Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
|
Some Duncan Taylor & Co brands have received awards in various editions of Jim Murray's Whisky Bible.[ citation needed ]
A North British 1978, cask Q247, 54.7% abv from the Rare Auld range received a "Liquid Gold Award" in the 2010 Whisky Bible (awards are granted to any whiskies which score 94 or above out of a maximum 100 points).[ citation needed ] The single cask grain whisky was also rated "Scotch Grain of the Year".[ citation needed ]
Based on ratings by blind tasting panels, Duncan Taylor & Co was awarded the "Independent Bottlers of Year" award from Whisky Magazine [1] in 2006 (Highlands, Lowlands & Blended categories), [1] 2007 (Lowlands), [2] 2008 (Lowlands), [3] and 2011 (Islay). [4]
Scotch whisky, often simply called whisky or Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
Talisker distillery is an island single malt Scotch whisky distillery based in Carbost, Scotland on the Minginish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye.
Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky.
Grant's is a blended Scotch whisky, produced by the company William Grant & Sons in Scotland.
Chivas Regal is a blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Scotland.
Kilchoman distillery is a distillery that produces single malt Scotch whisky on Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. Kilchoman Distillery is in the northwest of the island, close to Machir Bay. Kilchoman was founded by Anthony Wills and remains an independent, family run distillery. It is the smallest on the island but since obtaining Rockside Farm in 2015, is in the process of expanding.
Kinclaith distillery was a Lowland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Glasgow, Scotland,
German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "Whesskey", a play on the word whisky and Hessen, the state in which it is produced. There are currently 23 distilleries in Germany producing whisky.
Murray McDavid is a bottler of Scotch whisky, offering a range of whisky from vintage single malts and grains to blended malts.
It has been common practice in the whisky industry for more than a century for distilleries to sell barrels of whisky to blenders and independent bottlers as a means of making additional income. In fact, some distilleries exist solely to serve independent bottlers, and do not market any brands themselves.
English whisky (whiskey) is a liquor made from cereal grains, malt and water that is produced in England. This includes malt whisky and grain whisky.
Compass Box is a producer, bottler and marketer of a range of blended Scotch whiskies. The company is headquartered in Richmond. Compass Box Whisky was founded in 2000 by American entrepreneur John Glaser, a former marketing director at Johnnie Walker. The current blending team at Compass Box is headed up by James Saxon as whiskymaking director
Strathclyde distillery is a grain spirit distillery producing PBS that will make grain whisky after maturation, located in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, Scotland.
Annandale distillery is a whisky distillery producing single malt Scotch whisky in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
Douglas Laing & Co is an independent bottler of Scotch whisky. Based in Glasgow, Scotland and established in 1948, the company has a number of brands including its "Remarkable Regional Malts" range, encompassing The Epicurean, Timorous Beastie, Scallywag, Rock Island and Big Peat, as well as Old Particular, Provenance and Xtra Old Particular, which they collectively call their "Exceptional Single Casks". The firm also creates and sells King of Scots Blended Scotch Whisky, Clan Denny Single Casks and Premier Barrel.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky: