Location and contact details
Location: Glenfarclas Distillery, Ballindalloch, Banffshire, AB37 9BD
Visit Type: Vistor Centre
Co-ordinates: 57.426662, -3.318208
Telephone: +44 (0) 1807 500 257
Email: visitorcentre[at]glenfarclas.co.uk
Web: http://www.glenfarclas.co.uk/ 
Twitter: Glenfarclas Whisky (@glenfarclas)Facts and figures
| Location | Banffshire |
| Founded | 1836 |
| Owner | J. & G. Grant |
| Stills | 3 wash stills 3 spirit stills |
Opening Hours
The distillery is open five days a week all year round, 1000 to 1700 between April and September and between 1000 and 1600 between October and march; it is also open 10-1600 on Saturdays from July to September. Check http://www.glenfarclas.co.uk/en/pages/22,The-Visitors-Centre.html for full details.
Tours
Classic Tour
£7.50
Take a tour of the distillery with one of the knowledgeable guides and discover not only the magic of malt whisky production and maturation, but the unique history of this family owned distillery. After your tour, relax with a couple of drams in the splendour of the Ship’s Room and browse in the distillery shop with its large selection of Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Glenfarclas gifts.
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours
Booking is strongly recommended as places on tours are limited.
Please see below for tour times.
Summer
April to September, Monday to Friday:
10:30, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30
Saturdays (July, August and September only):
10:30, 12:00, 13:15, 14:30
Winter
October to March, Monday to Friday:
10:30, 12:00, 13:15, 14:30
Connoisseur Tour & Tasting
£40
For the Connoisseur Tour, they offer a more in-depth experience. Enjoy a tour of the distillery and warehouses, after which they will introduce you to a selection of four of the Grant family’s favourite expressions of Glenfarclas, including one from the famous Family Cask Collection.
Duration: Usually between 2 and 2.5 hours
This tour starts at 2pm on Fridays between April and October.
Over 18s only.
Five Decades Tour & Tasting
£125
The Five Decades Tour is an exclusive in-depth tour of the distillery followed by a tasting of five whiskies from The Family Cask Collection, with one from each decade from the 1960s to the 2000s. Enjoy exploring their history in your glass. This is a unique experience for the true whisky enthusiast to try some of the rarest and most outstanding bottlings of Glenfarclas and gain an appreciation for what makes Glenfarclas special.
Duration: Usually between 2 and 2.5 hours
This tour runs two or three times per month, subject to availability. Please email us to register your interest.
Over 18s only.
Review: Connoiseur Tour & Tasting (18:59 on 27/09/2019)
Price: £40
I booked the Connoisseur Tour & Tasting by phone a few weeks in advance of the tour. I've previously visited Glenfarclas and did the Classic Tour, back in 2015. With a few years having passed, I decided it was time to return.
The tour had 14 people on it which wasn't too bad as a lot of the distillery us quite spacious. The tour takes yuo via the mill and destoner before moving onto the large room cintaining the mash tun and wash backs.
There was a little trouble hearing near the mash tun as there were multiple alarms going off; as we moved down the room to the wash backs the nearest alarm was switched off.
The tour through to this point had been very good and detailed; when we moved through to the still house, it all fell apart. I was taking some photos of the wash backs and was one of the last into the still house. I wasn't so delayed that I had time to miss an explanation of the distillation.
It seems that as everyone entered the room they spread out and took their own look and photos of the stills and the guide talked to small groups, but, from what I heard, never gave the type of explanation of the distillation I'm used to hearing. Twice the direct-fired nature of the stills was covered, which supports my supposition that no single presentation of the process was conducted.
The next step of the tour was a visit to bonded warehouse where the type of cask was discussed. After this, we returned to the visitor centre to the Ship Room for the tasting which had four expressions:
- Glenfarclas 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Glenfarclas 21 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Glenfarclas 25 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Glenfarclas 1994 Family Cask Winter 2017 Release Single Malt Whisky
The tour was quite good, but let itself down in the still room.
History
Glenfarclas distillery is a Speyside whisky distillery in Ballindalloch, Scotland. Glenfarclas translates as meaning valley of the green grass. The distillery is owned and run by the Grant family. The distillery has six stills which are the largest on Speyside and are heated directly by gas burners.
The distillery has a production capacity of around 90,000 litres of finished whisky per year. Normally four stills are used for production with two kept in reserve.
The distillery has approximately 50,000 casks maturing on site, in traditional dunnage warehouses, with stock from every year from 1952 to the current year. Glenfarclas produce a traditional Highland malt with a heavy sherry influence.
The distillery was first granted a license in 1836 when it was run by Robert Hay. In 1865 it was bought by John Grant and is still owned and run by his descendants, making it truly independent.
John L.S. Grant, who joined Glenfarclas in 1973, is the current Chairman. His son George S. Grant is Director of Sales. The company was named Distiller of the Year by Whisky Magazine in 2006.
Since 2006 Glenfarclas has been distributed in the UK by Pol Roger Ltd. In 2008 the company began sponsoring horseracing with the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at Cheltenham. In 2011, the 40-year-old 46% vol. expression was named "Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the Year" in the 17th Annual Malt Advocate Whisky Awards.
