Scotland, Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: Pernod Ricard

Like Longmorn and Glen Grant, Strathisla was for a long time associated with the renowned independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, whose bottlings released with the owners' consent were often confused with the distillery's own. It was also within their vaults that the character and aromatic profile of this first-class malt was forged. A generous and complex style characterized by first and second-fill sherry cask ageing which would become extremely popular among whisky enthusiasts. This identity was abundantly explored through the vintages offered by Gordon & MacPhail, the oldest of which dates back to 1937 (the “Licensed Bottling” white label and “Connoisseurs Choice” black label). In 2004, things changed. The distillery owner, the Chivas Brothers group (Pernod Ricard), took back control and began releasing small batch official bottlings of Strathisla in the ranges Cask Strength Edition and Distillery Reserve Collection.

Strathisla 12 Year Old joined the official range in 1993 as part of the Heritage Collection, which also included Glen Keith, Benriach and Longmorn. For Seagram, which owned these distilleries, it was a way to compete with the Classic Malts launched by United Distillers in 1998 and the Caledonian Malts launched by Allied Distillers in 1991.