Distilleries

Fettercairn

The Story

Lying at the foothills of Scotland’s dramatic Cairngorm mountains, Fettercairn is a Highland distillery with a genuinely aristocratic past. It was founded in 1824 by Sir Alexander Ramsay, a wealthy landowner who actually campaigned to license and regulate Scottish whisky distillation. Shortly after opening, the estate was sold to the Gladstone family, whose most famous son, William Gladstone, would later become Prime Minister and pass vital tax reforms that helped the entire Scotch industry flourish. Today, under the ownership of Whyte and Mackay, Fettercairn has stepped out from the shadows of the blending world. Over the last decade, it has undergone a massive brand revival, completely repackaging its single malts and repositioning itself as a premium, forward thinking Highland brand with a rapidly growing international fanbase.

The Character & Production

Fettercairn is completely unique in the whisky world thanks to an ingenious piece of engineering in its still house. In the 1950s, the distillery managers were searching for a way to create a lighter, purer spirit. Their brilliant solution was to install copper cooling rings around the outside of the spirit stills. While the stills are running, freezing cold mountain water pours from these rings and cascades down the outside of the copper neck. This rapidly cools the inside of the still, forcing only the absolute lightest and finest alcohol vapours to rise to the top. This extreme reflux creates Fettercairn’s signature tropical character. The new make spirit is famously bursting with vibrant notes of pineapple, mango, melon and banana. It is a wonderfully estery and fruity Highland malt that acts as a perfect, sweet canvas for long term cask maturation.

The Facts

Capacity: 3.2 Million Litres Per Annum
Malt Specification: Unpeated
Mash Tun: Stainless steel full lauter
Stills: 4 (2 Wash, 2 Spirit fitted with unique external cooling rings)
Condenser Type: Shell and tube
Heat Source: Steam
Washbacks: 14 Wooden (Oregon pine)
Fermentation Time: Around 60 hours
Water Source: Grampian mountain springs

Performance & Returns

Fettercairn is currently experiencing a golden era of brand growth. Because Whyte and Mackay have heavily invested in marketing the single malt, the global awareness of this once hidden Highland gem has skyrocketed. For investors, Fettercairn presents a highly attractive proposition. Its distinct tropical fruit profile makes it incredibly popular with independent bottlers and modern whisky drinkers looking for something a little different from the classic dark sherry bombs. The spirit performs exceptionally well in quality ex bourbon barrels, allowing those sweet mango and vanilla notes to shine over a decade or two of aging. Securing a Fettercairn cask today means buying into a rapidly premiumising brand with a truly distinct unique selling point and an inspiring green vision for the future.

“A Highland gem famous for its tropical spirit and ingenious cooling rings. With a massive brand revival underway and its pioneering Scottish oak forest project, Fettercairn offers investors a rapidly premiumising malt with a truly unique flavour profile.”