Tastings of whiskies bottled decades ago are rollercoaster affairs, and this one touched some impressive heights, and plumbed some intriguingly subterranean depths. But even when it was bad – three of the six whiskies had serious ‘issues’– it never ceased to be fascinating.

Within DCL White Horse became the license holder of both Lagavulin and Glen Elgin distilleries, although operationally they became the responsibility of DCL’s former subsidiary, Scottish Malt Distillers Limited. Diageo dissolved White Horse Distillers Ltd. as a separate company in 2010. Some years earlier DCL had withdrawn White Horse blended whisky from the UK market, as it did with a number of its brands because of parallel trading, particularly in Europe. However, it continues to be a valued second tier export brand and a very highly regarded standard blend and has since re-entered the domestic market. In Richard Yates's 1961 novel Revolutionary Road, a small model horse taken from around a White Horse whisky bottle and gifted to her by her father serves as an important symbol of nostalgia, love, and hope for April Wheeler.

Types of whisky

White Horse is featured in Mieko Kawakami's Breast and Eggs: A Novel (2020) as the main feature of the "all you can drink special" at the Chanel Bar in Tokyo. None of the companies mentioned in the above extract from “The Schweppes Guide to Scotch” still exist. Let’s, however, add a few historical facts, which were not fully recorded in 1983. But the sector received some good news in March when US tariffs on single malt Scotch were removed for a four‐month period. The tariffs were introduced due to an ongoing dispute between the US and the EU regarding plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.

In 1927 White Horse Distillers Ltd. was taken over by the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) which, for a number of years, used it as a holding company and granted it the licence to a number of distilleries including Lagavulin and Glen Elgin. Diageo's White Horse blended Scotch whisky is based on Lagavulin malt and is 3 years old. The reviewed sample is from a freshly opened bottle From time to time, special event bottles have appeared. These include White Horse Gold Edition 1890 which was brought out exclusively for the travel retail trade to mark Chinese New Year in 2014 which was, surprise surprise, the Year of the Horse! There is also White Horse 1900, named after the year in which the brand was first exported although there is clear evidence that this was already happening in the 1890’s. It is described as a lighter version of the standard blend – presumably because it contains less Lagavulin – or perhaps none at all!. Then there is the White Horse America’s Cup 1987 expression, which is now a collector’s item. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service.

Age:

Six whiskies with the same name: all different, all sharing a common character, all reinforcing the ideal of blended Scotch. So: was there quality, balance and consistency? Yes, there was, but it was also shaped by the practices and pressures of the conditions under which these whiskies were bottled, the efficiency of the closures used and the storage conditions in the years that followed. The intact screwcaps of the 1969 and 1979 bottlings were viewed with relief – and the whiskies they contained regained the high ground of bottle number one. Sherried notes of polished wood, dried fruit and spice, all in varying degrees of balance with that unifying White Horse thread of fine, integrated smoke. White Horse is also seeking to move beyond the whisky category’s “traditional” image. “We’ve been working to change perceptions and broaden its appeal for different occasions in a similar way to how gin and premium beer have done in recent years,” adds Magana. The secret may be the closure. A pre-1945 springcap was fastened tight as a drum (and took some time to remove). The whisky revealed was a triumph, with integrated, confident smoke, butterscotch moving into darker caramel and coffee bean; and all the serenity of great age. We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof.

Peter was ambitious and spent his entire working life from the age of 23 in the whisky business. However, his drive and determination were tempered with a strong adherence to the work ethic of the times as well as a dedication to ensuring good quality control and a distinctiveness in the company’s products, which was achieved largely through the use of Lagavulin in the blends. But consistency over what timescale? It’s not unreasonable to expect your favoured brand to maintain a similar flavour from one bottle to the next, but where does that expectation end? After a few months? A year? What about several decades?Blended Scotch Sir Edward’s recorded stagnant sales in 2020, but a new campaign and a beer barrel‐finished bottling could see the brand’s sales recover in 2021. Ownership soon passed to the Glen Elgin-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd and, in 1907, to J.J. Blanche of Glasgow. DCL later acquired it through Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd and responsibility for it was subsequently passed to White Horse Distillers Ltd. Glen Elgin, like Lagavulin, is bottled at 12 years old, but is, of course, a totally different sort of dram. It is slightly sweet on the palate, which is not unusual for a Speyside. The White Horse blending and bottling facility is located alongside Port Dundas Grain Distillery in Glasgow which is owned and operated by another DCL subsidiary, Scottish Grain Distillers Ltd.” The new campaign from Sir Edward’s, which is owned by French drinks group La Martiniquaise‐Bardinet, aims to celebrate the Scottish roots of the brand, while highlighting the whisky’s strengths as an authentic, easy‐to-drink and accessible Scotch. If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.