Ancient Glenfarclas bottling discovered in cupboard

A bottle of Glenfarclas whisky dating back to 1920 has been discovered wrapped in a tea towel in the back of a cupboard.

The bottle of Glenfarclas whisky from 1920 was found in the back of a laundry cupboard

The whisky, thought to be the oldest surviving unopened bottling from the Speyside distillery, was discovered by Hugh Taylor in the back of his laundry cupboard.

Originally, the bottle had been presented to former Gartloch Distillery manager, Stephen Dowell, on the sites closure in 1920.

Dowell kept the bottling until 1947 when it was passed onto his daughter, who gave it to Taylor, her niece’s husband, in 1988.

Taylor kept hold of the ancient bottling and recently contacted the Glenfarclas distillery to tell them about his find.

In April, Taylor took the whisky back to the Speyside distillery when John Grant, fifth generation owner of the distillery, could inspect the expression in person.

A number of features on the bottle meant there was no doubt over the bottles authenticity.

Grant said: “I am delighted to bring this bottle containing whisky from the time of my grandfather back to it’s spiritual home, and as such add another chapter to our archive.”

The bottling will be on display at the Glanfarclas visitor centre during this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, alongside the distillery’s 2018 festival exclusive bottling – a 2004 single cask selected by distillery manager, Callum Fraser.

If you are heading to Speyside for this year’s festival, why not check out SB‘s guide to the unmissable events taking place this year?