Glen Albyn Distillery Logbook 29th August 1924

 

The following page of the Glen Albyn logbook takes us once more beyond the distillery gates, directing our attention to another issue occurring in the city. Fortunately, this matter pertains to defective whisky, providing us with further insight into local affairs, the authority and sway of a particular establishment.

Additionally, we see the reappearance of Gilbert W. Peterkin, indicating that the earlier entry was penned by an exciseman who was likely providing some sort of cover during Gilbert's absence.

Once again, I've transcribed the entry from the logbook and will discuss its content afterwards.

'Glen Albyn Distillery

Inverness

29th August 1924

Honourable Sirs, 

Messrs John Haig Co. Ltd. Markinch request the issue of a permit for the return of 36 gallons duty paid Plain British Spirits to their duty paid warehouse at Markinch from the Highland Club Inverness.

Originally three different consignments of whisky were received at the Highland Club as per two permits and one certificate enclosed, hereby:

10.7 gallons  at proof from John Haig Markinch

10 gallons  Milton Distillery, Keith

10.2 gallons  Milton Distillery, Keith

These three parcels were blended and reduced. The resulting blend tasted 'woody' and this parcel was attributed to the whisky, supplied by Messrs Haig, and the latter firm have agreed to take back the whole blend.

I am satisfied that the facts are as stated, and have no reason to doubt that the whisky produced to me is other than the blend of the three parcels mentioned.

Your Honours instructions requested as to whether a permit may be issued. 

I am, your obedient servant

G.W. Peterkin, officer.

Margin comments:

BO 141794 1/9/24. The application may be dealt with under the directions of paragraph 417 of the Cautionary Instructions 1913.'

As you can imagine, trying to find a bygone Highland Club in the Inverness area is a fruitless task. However, we can view this as an establishment with connections and finances to purchase individual parcels and blend these for their own purposes.

It's intriguing that the person responsible for the blending failed to examine the individual elements prior to mixing, or to create a test batch. The defect was ultimately linked to the Haig component, which is probably a grain spirit, likely sourced from the Cameronbridge distillery in Fife, situated not far from the Markinch headquarters of John Haig Co., where their professional blending took place.

In this case, we see a more enthusiastic approach to blending for the Highland Club, showcasing two from the Milton distillery, now known as Strathisla, having previously utilised 'Milton' in various periods. This distillery is still operational and is considered one of the most scenic in Scotland, which is why I chose it for the lead image.

Why mix two examples of single malt with what we believe is a grain? This choice mirrored the public's preferences of the era, as blended whisky was regarded as more sophisticated and luxurious than a solitary whisky from a distillery. The combination of various styles led to fresh experiences, such as the 'woody' variant introduced in 1924, which prompted the request for a refund.

The fact that John Haig Co. Ltd. agreed to the refund, thus implying that their whisky was not of sufficient quality, is quite surprising. This might highlight the influence of the Highland Club or its members, perhaps? It's possible that the being a consistent source of orders, led the Haigs to feel compelled to honour the request from the Highland Club.

Additionally, it's intriguing to consider how a whisky that was potentially this defective managed to leave their warehouse without raising any alarms. What they would do with the newly created blend is a mystery that has faded into history; it could be analysed, discarded, or perhaps incorporated into a much larger blend.

Eventually, I managed to find more details about the mysterious Highland Club, and its status became evident. The Inverness Burgh Directive from 1923 pinpointed its location at 37 Grant's Close, with R. Taylor listed as the manager. Further probing indicates that this venue is more akin to a gentleman's club or one associated with military ties. At that time, the chairman was noted as J.P. Grant of Rothiemurchus - a woodland area near Aviemore. This likely refers to Colonel John Peter Grant, who had a military background and was the 14th of Rothiemurchus, although tracing the genealogy of the Grants can be quite complex due to various titles and similar names. His father, the 13th, passed away in 1927, so he might have also held the position of chairman, though I have yet to verify if he had any military connections. Moreover, the committee list features a general, a major, and a captain, hinting at the nature of the Highland Club and their ability to secure a refund; a clear indication of their authority and influence.

The Club sought more than just ordinary whisky; they desired a unique blend crafted exclusively for their members. Unfortunately for this particular blend, they chose to search beyond the city limits, overlooking several excellent distilleries in close proximity.

Once more, we're fortunate to be able to share with you the insights of Alan Winchester regarding this entry, and he graciously supplied the images below, which may illustrate the kinds of vessels utilised for these whiskies.

'What an interesting post, and as usual quite puzzling.

Firstly on Milton Distillery, this was in the time of William Longmore's ownership, the Distillery which was Established 1786 as Milton.

After the passing of 1823 Distilling act Strathisla Distillery was built up stream of Milton, this Distillery was then converted into Strathisla Mills, this site was passed to Wm Longmore, and the Strathisla name was used for the spirit/whisky coming from Milton, until 1950s' when Seagram named the Distillery Strathisla, with Strathisla Mill becoming Strathmill Distillery.

Now we move to the blend, interesting 2 malt to 1 so a decent proportion of malt.'

'On the quantities they seem small volumes for casks, and I wonder if these volumes are not casks, and maybe whisky pigs, at this time Strathisla, had a bottling plant or rather a whisky pig filling operation, attached photograph of one of these pigs, normally 5 gallons, or as at that time the whisky maybe have been racked into smaller casks, 9 gallons were the minimum volume a distillery could sell at this time, so may explain, the 10 + gallon figures.

Yes, you are correct why was individual quantities not nosed, but that's interesting and great see to Mr Peterkin.

Hope this is of help, the casks and pigs would be returnable, The Cameronbridge being woody is of interest, that speaks of age.'

Once more, we have a highly informative logbook entry. Although it does not provide any information about Glen Albyn, it allows us to gain a deeper understanding of practices and the whisky landscape of the period, which is very much lost today. What insights will the next entry unveil?

The Glen Albyn logs are held at the Highland Archives Centre in Inverness (HCA/D31/4/1/23 and HCA/D31/4/1/24) and I'm thankful to the Archive and HMRC for access to these incredible resources and bringing them to life.