A bottle of Speyside whisky that dates back nearly a century has “returned home” after being found in the back of a laundry cupboard.
The unopened bottle of Glenfarclas, which was sealed in 1920, is believed to be the oldest from the distillery which is still in existence.
The malt, which was emblazoned with the words “rare old” on the label, was presented to the manager of Gartloch Distillery, Stephen Dowell, when the site closed shortly after the end of World War I.
Mr Dowell kept the whisky as a memento of his time there until 1947, when it was passed to his daughter.
The bottle was then forgotten about for nearly four decades after it was wrapped in a tea towel and put at the back of a laundry cupboard.
However, it was rediscovered by Hugh Taylor in 1988, who is married to the niece of Mr Dowell’s daughter, and has been in his possession until recently when his family contacted Glenfarclas.
The rare find will now go on display at the Ballindalloch distillery throughout the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which begins on Thursday, before joining the firm’s archive.
The whisky returned home last month to allow John Grant, who is the fifth generation of the family to run the distillery, to scrutinise it for the first time.
Concerns have been raised about the number of counterfeit bottles from the era that have been discovered across the globe.
However, Mr Grant is in no doubt that the bottle is genuine after inspecting features on the glass and label for authenticity.
He said: “I am delighted to bring this bottle containing whisky from the time of my grandfather back to its spiritual home.
“It adds another chapter to our archive.”
Last year, the distillery itself donated an old bottle of whisky to its rightful owner.
The malt, which was decanted in 1942, had been ordered by the Seafield Arms in Rothes but only arrived there after in 2017 following the discovery of a hand-written note in the sampling room at Glenfarclas.
