This is another entry in the Ghost Safari series, where I am on a mission to try all closed Scotched single malt distilleries one can reasonable get one’s hands on (= that produced some whisky in the last 50 years). We come now to a set of long-gone Glens that I never tried before: Glen Flagler, Glen Albyn, Glenury Royal, Glenugie. As a measure of their rarity, we can look at the number of different bottlings for each distillery listed on whiskybase:
Glen Flagler — 45
Glen Albyn — 201
Glenury Royal — 127
Glenugie — 1156
As a comparison, Caol Ila, common among indie bottlers, has nearly 6400 entries. Glenfiddich, a venerable and well-marketed distillery, but rarely independently bottled (at least under its true name), has about 1500 entries. Most distilleries seem to lie in the range of 1000 to 7000 entries.
So Glen Flagler’s 45 makes it really rare! But it was only operating from 1965 until its closure 1985. It was mostly used in blends for the American market by the yankee owners, Inver House. Flagler is in fact not a Lowland glen, but refers to a street in Palm Beach, Florida. The same compound housed a grain distillery Garnheath, the Glen Flagler malt distillery, and Killyloch malt distillery. The latter was a lighty-peated style (with a heavily peated ‘Islabrae’ version) whose production stopped in the early 1970s. Only three bottlings on whiskybase! That’s going to be neigh-impossible to find a sample of…
Glen Albyn, on the other hand, has a long history, founded in 1844 near Inverness, and finally closing well over a century later in 1983. I did not find out about how continuous production was during its existence, except it was converted into a flour mill for some time in the 19th century. All bottles on whiskybase have vintages between 1962 to 1983. In its later days it was operated by Diageo.
And so was Glenury Royal, founded 1825 in the highland town of Stonehaven (cover image) by Captain Robert Barclay, who seems to have been an athletic man, running 1000 miles in 1000 hours. The distillery ceased production in 1992. The building was then sold and converted to apartments. (Did they make bathtubs out of the wash tubs?) Only the base of the chimney exists from the distillery today.
Lastly, Glenugie (at its final location) started production in 1875 and ceased in 1983, this year of unspeakable tragedy, and was demolished in 1985. I didn’t find anything all too interesting about its history, which is just as well, because now I want to get into these drams!
Glen Flagler | “70 Proof” | 1970s | 40% | Official
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
A light, fruity, and elegant nose. Clementine, banana, pear, fresh cream, lightly grassy,
Sipping
Juicy, with apples, pears and oranges, a hint of oak spice, and a malty background. A little thin from the low abv.
💭 Comments
“In the great Scottish tradition of yesteryear Glen Flagler is all-malt, 100% pot still whisky. a rare and distinctive reminder in this century of a gentler era.” I really like this delicate fruity style that some might find it boring. In any case, I think Glen Flagler is known for being rare, not for being exceptionally good.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡🟢
⚫🟡⚫
(not considered)
Reminder of a gentler era
Glen Albyn | “Culloden” | 15yo (1996) | 43% | Royal Mile Whiskies
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
It is a little sharp and solventy; looking past this there’s a malty, earthy, and fruity profile. Indistinct yellow fruits, gentle woody aromas, marzipan, baked sweet buns.
Sipping
Peppery, and very malty, somewhat oily. Definitely pears and melon, some cookies, but I am mostly finding the spice and spirity qualities.
💭 Comments
I’d easily have thought this one to be of a much higher ABV because of the spiciness. Didn’t hit home with me, really.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡⚫
⚫🟡⚫
⚫⚫⚫
(not considered)
Glenury Royal | 22yo (1984) | 48.5% | Duncan Taylor
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
(no info)
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
very rare; expect ~€400 at autction
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Tricky one; there are lots of subtle herbal, grassy, floral aromas, along with fruits and minerality and a dusty and oily vibe. Various notes that came to mind (in order of appearance): pineapple, ham & cheese, rhubarb, herbs, strawberry, grape, clay, flower violet, a little tiger balm, lemon, wood (with water), sesame oil.
Sipping
A medium sweetness, and a little salty. Very malt-driven, with fruity elements, fragrant mint, sour lemon drops, and maybe parma ham with melon, acorns (?!), and overall slightly oily and a wee bit dirty.
💭 Comments
It’s really quite austere — no indulgent confectionary notes here — but exploring among the subtle fruit, herbs, and flowers makes this really interesting, albeit not immediately charming.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡⚫
⚫⚫🟢
(not considered)
An olfactory workout
Glenugie | 25yo (1981) | 51.5% | Duncan Taylor
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
(no info)
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
rare at auction; €400+ estimate
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Lots of sherry cask influence here: leather, fruit leather, red wine, cream/butter, maple syrup, hardwood, caramel-coated nuts, seriously dark chocolate, a little savon de provence.
Sipping
Sweet, and just a little savoury and salty, and just the perfect small amount of wood tannins. Red berries & fruits, leather, pumpkin, confection, more almonds, a little rubber and smoke; autumnal. Not unlike a 40yo+ Armagnac.
💭 Comments
Lots of cask influence here, but not a completely swamped spirit. It manages to stay quite balanced; just a little bit of tannins and rubber/sulphur to pique the interest.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡🟢
⚫🟡🟢
(not considered)
I’d like to have this again sometime in October
And there we go. It’s possible I will never try these distilleries again. Not because they are so impossible to get a sample of, but you would need to seek it out, and be prepared to pay. Now that they have been crossed off the list, I can say they were all fun to try, but not so amazing I’m going to go out of my way to find more . But hey, you never know what the whisky future hold. If I could just find that Killyloch, though…
DuckDrams 
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