🥃 Teaninich

Teaninich is a distillery and single malt Scotch whisky brand in the town of Alness in Ross-shire, in the north of the Highlands. Captain Hugh Munro, owner of an estate and a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, founded it in 1817. Today the distillery belongs to Diageo, and its whisky mostly goes into blends.

History. Until the mid-19th century the distillery was run by the Munro family; later it was leased out. In 1898 it was bought by Elgin blenders Munro & Cameron, and in 1933 by the Distillers Company. In 1970 a second distillery with six stills was built nearby; both worked until 1984, when the old one was shut down. Diageo has owned it since 1997.

How it is made. Teaninich stands out for its equipment: since 2000 the malt has been milled in a hammer mill, and instead of a mash tun it uses a mash filter. According to Whiskypedia, this is the only one at a malt distillery in Scotland. The malt is unpeated, fermentation lasts at least 75 hours, and water comes from the Dairy Well spring. In 2014 six more stills and eight washbacks were added, so the capacity figures in different sources do not match.

The range. The official bottling is in the Flora & Fauna series; sources give its age as 10 or 12 years. Other versions are released by independent bottlers.

Why this matters to you. Teaninich rarely appears on shelves as a single malt, so check the age, distillation year and strength on the label. This is a Highland whisky, not a Speyside one, and by law Scotch must be at least 40% ABV. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe amount of alcohol.