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Highland Grain
Registered Office:-
Glaikmore
North Kessock
Inverness
IV1 3UD
UK

Tel:  +44(0)1463 811435

Fax: +44(0)1463 811618

28 April 2009 2008 Glenmorangie Highland Grain Malting Barley Awards

At the eighteenth annual Glenmorangie Highland Grain Malting Barley Awards held recently in the Royal Hotel in Tain, a difficult, but successful harvest, was celebrated as both farmers and the famous distiller contemplated potentially difficult circumstances ahead.  The 2008 harvest, which was punctuated by long periods of changeable weather, ultimately produced a very good crop of malting barley which should process well and produce good results for Glenmorangie, following on from the excellent results achieved from the 2007 harvest, said Jim Whiteford, Chairman of Highland Grain. 

He went on to say that the links between the businesses had grown stronger over the years, and there were clear benefits in the arrangement for both parties.  “The Glenmorangie brand is known worldwide and it is a privilege to be associated with it”, said Mr Whiteford.  “Our ability to target specific material and to bulk it in a unique way for this market is providing value for all”.  Mr Whiteford alluded to more challenging times in 2009, as it would appear that supply could exceed demand.  “Growers across the UK and Europe need to be aware of their market and check that there is a contract before planting for the quality markets”, he said.

Andy Macdonald, Manager at Glenmorangie Distillery, said that the new developments at the distillery in Tain, which will increase capacity by 50%, were going very much according to plan.  “This major investment is on time and on budget and so Glenmorangie will be able to enhance its global position in future with more product. This will give us additional access to a number of new markets, whilst advancing our strong reputation within those where we are already established,” he said.  The investments being made both by Highland Grain and by the maltster partner, Greencore Malt, demonstrated that the whole supply chain had taken responsibility to supply these growing markets, he stated.

In a year of very strong competition, with good Nitrogen levels, high grain weights and low screenings, the process of selecting the best barleys was very challenging.  The competitions for best samples were judged by Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmoragie's Master.

The prizewinners for the Best Sample of Optic were J Cameron Maciver of Wester Coltfield, Kinloss, whilst for the best sample, any other variety, the winners were A & P Grewar of Allangrange, Munlochy with a sample of Oxbridge. Finally, for the best malting quality from any one farm, the winners were Houghton Farms (Meddat).