Glencraig 1975 Connoisseurs Choice (70cl, 40%)

Glencraig 1975 Connoisseurs Choice is a whisky. Bottled at 40% ABV, 70cl. Glencraig whisky was produced throughout the 1960’s and 70’s at Glenburgie distillery on a pair of Lomond stills. In 1955 Alastair Cunningham and his Hiram Walker colleague, draftsman Arthur Warren, developed the Lomond still to produce a light, fruity spirit for the likes of Ballantine’s. After a successful trial at Inverleven distillery within the firm’s Dumbarton distillery, it was decided to install a Lomond wash and spirit still at Glenburgie in 1958. It was named Glencraig after Hiram Walker’s production director, Willie Craig. Unfortunately the so-called rectifying plates in the neck of Lomond stills were notoriously hard to clean, and in 1981 they were abandoned at Glenburgie. Since then occasional bottles of Glencraig single malt have been released by Duncan Taylor, Cadenhead’s, Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. While independent bottlings of Glencraig occasionally appear, it was never intended as a single malt in its brief life. It was distilled by Hiram Walker at the Glenburgie distillery to provide a different style of malt for the firm’s blends, such as its top-selling Ballantine’s Finest. Connoisseurs Choice is one of the most easily recognised ranges from the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. This range was launched by George Urquhart - one of the first of four generations of the family to build Gordon & MacPhail - back in the 1960s; a period where most malts were used in blends so this was quite an unusual move for the company. Perhaps due to the popularity surrounding blends, this range did well as the exception by showcasing some distilleries which had never before been bottled as single malts and thus, it has proved to be a hit for more than 35 years. Glencraig (Glenburgie) Please note minor creasing and staining to carton.