A bit of history
Teaninich was established by Captain Hugo Munro in 1817 in the north Highland village of Alness. Munro was a colourful character, blinded by a musket ball during the Napoleonic wars. He built the distillery on his family estate. Upon retirement in 1831, Munro sold the estate and distillery to his younger brother Lieutenant-General John Munro. The distillery remained owned or part-owned by the Munro family until 1904 when Robert Innes Cameron became sole owner.
Cameron died in 1933, and the distillery was sold to Distillers Company Limited (DCL). This key moment set Teaninich on the track that we find it on today. Over time, DCL evolved to become the modern-day Diageo. Both companies, and those bridging in between, have used Teaninich almost exclusively in several blended Scotch whisky brands.
By the 1970s, Teaninich was one of the largest distilleries in Scotland. A new extension, known as Distillery B, helped to achieve this. The original distillery was renamed Distillery A. Both were decommissioned and demolished in the late-1990s and replaced by the current distillery. It is the third largest within Diageo, Scotland’s largest whisky producer, behind only Glen Ord and Roseisle.
Background
Teaninich single malt is highly regarded by whisky blenders. 99% of production at the distillery is allocated for this purpose. The spirit is a key component in Diageo blends such as Johnnie Walker, but it is also used by other companies. Compass Box often use it to give their blends structure and complexity.
Bottlings of Teaninich as a single malt are rare. The only consistently released expression is Teaninich 10 years old. This forms part of Diageo’s Flora & Fauna range. This collection showcases some of the company’s lesser-known ‘workhorse’ distilleries while celebrating some of Scotland’s best wildlife and plants. A 17-year-old appeared in the Diageo Special Releases in 2017, marking the distillery’s only representation in the esteemed series. Otherwise, you will have to search Teaninich out with the independent bottlers, where it can be found with more regularity.
The geeky bit
Teaninich is a large and modern distillery that has an annual capacity of 10.2 million litres per year. This makes it the seventh-largest single malt distillery in Scotland. The early part of the production process at Teaninich is different to most other Scotch whisky distilleries.
A hammer mill rather than a traditional roller mill is used, which grinds the barley to a fine flour. Warm water is added, and the soluble sugars extracted before being passed through a mash filter. This piece of equipment has replaced the traditional mash tun at the distillery. This combination of hammer mill and mash filter is more commonly used in brewing beer. Only one other distillery in Scotland uses this method – Inchdairnie in Fife.
The remainder of production follows the traditional track. There are 20 washbacks – 18 wooden and two stainless steel – with a fermentation time of 78 hours. The distillery has 12 stills – six wash and six spirit stills. Interestingly, it also produces a small amount of rye whisky each year since 2022 following a request from the Diageo blending team.
One To Buy | Teaninich 10 years old Flora & Fauna
The one and only constant bottling released by Diageo is matured solely in ex-bourbon casks. The whisky is sweet, fresh and light. Notes of vanilla, hazelnut praline and lemon zest combine superbly with heather honey, golden syrup and dried grass or hay. Hints of canned peaches, cocoa powder and white chocolate sit in the background. Deliciously bright and somewhat of an undiscovered Scotch whisky gem.
To find out more about this and other distilleries, get in contact with one of the team here who can talk you through the options to invest in your own whisky cask or bottle.
