And that's all I have to offer on Glenburgie and Glencraig for the moment.
There's lots more to tell, but some information is listed elsewhere on this 'archive' site
while fresh data will added to the new Malt Madness website at some point in the future.
At the moment I can especially recommend chapter 4 of the Beginner's Guide - it offers
some backgrounds on the difference between normal 'swan neck' stills and 'Lomond' stills.

The Glenburgie distillery (also known as Glenburgie-Glenlivet and
Glen Burgie / Glenburry) started production under the name Kilnflat
in 1829. Well, at least officially - the distillery was founded almost
two decades earlier (that's unofficially) in 1810 by one William Paul.

After being closed in or around 1870 it was revived again in 1878
by Charles Kay under the name Glenburgie. There were changes in
ownership in the 1880's before Glenburgie was enlarged in 1890.
The history remained dodgy for four more decades; incorporated
as a limited company in 1895, liquidated in 1925 and finally silent
from 1927 to 1935. Well, not quite that 'finally', obviously...

Although I've read here and there that Glenburgie itself was also closed in
2000, I now understand that Glenburgie is in production again and blooming.
And even though bottlings are still quite rare (most of it is used for blends
like Ballantine's and Old Smuggler) they are nowhere as rare as Glencraig.
Bottler Gordon & MacPhail issues fresh bottlings of Glencraig fairly regularly.

When I write this (August 2006) I've sampled half a dozen different expressions of Glenburgie.
Check out my Track Record to see if any more were added during the last months of 2006 perhaps.
In the mean time, here's a list of the expressions I've tried so far...

Glenburgie 5yo (40%, OB, Bottled Late 1960's, Italy)
Nose: Apple, hint of beer and  chartreuse... Some sweetness, growing lighter and herbal over time.
Taste: A little flat, but pleasant enough. Round, smooth centre, growing woody towards the finish.
Score: 78 points - above average, but not much more. I didn't notice any obvious 'old bottle effect'.

Glenburgie 8yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, 5cl)
Nose: Sweet and creamy at first, with surprising smoke, organics and peat after a while.
After yet some more time it becomes distinctly sherried. Pears? Garlic? A very funny whisky.
Taste: Flat start, but it rounds out quite nicely in the center with malty and nutty notes.
Some smoke as well. Rather unique, actually! I wouldn't call it 'good', but I wasn't bored.
Score: 76 points - sure, it has flaws, but it packs a surprising coastal punch for an 8yo Speysider.

Glenburgie 10yo (40%, G&M 'OB', Bottled circa 2004)
Nose: Oily with a hint of antiquity (?). A weird one. Hard boiled egg white. Madeira. Sour cream. Subtle smoke.
Taste: Phew!!! Herbal and very bitter. It loses many points here. This is a malt for sniffing, not for drinking.
Score: 70 points - although I should point out that the nose alone would have put it well in the 80's...

Glenburgie 13yo 1990/2003 (57.9%, G&M 'Reserve', Cask #12510) that obviously came from a sherry cask.
Nose: Loads of lovely sherry notes in the nose. Sweetness and fruits. Recommendable!
Not as sharp as you's expect at this strength. My kind of malt, needless to say.
Taste: Sherry as well, but it's not as obvious as in the nose. All in all very nicely balanced.
Score: 84 points -  it lacks that little bit of extra personality it needs to reach the upper 80's.

Glenburgie-Glenlivet 16yo (59.6%, Cadenhead's, 18.75cl)
Nose: Round & fruity with a solid base. Very pleasant. Classic example of a good malt whisky.
Taste: Potent and malty at c/s, but a little nondescript. One of the better 'MOTR' malts I've tried.
Score: 85 points - I usually like my malts a little more 'opinionated' but this is an excellent malt whisky.

Glenburgie 1948-1961/1981 'Special Vatting' (40%, Gordon & MacPhail)
(Series of bottlings released in 1981 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana).
Nose: Big, sweet and round with pickles and organics. Complex and quite punchy at just 40%.
Taste: the 'antiquity' was very obvious. Some delicate smoke and a fairly bitter finish.
Score: 87 points - in the same range as the scores from the other maniacs.

And...
Erm... That's it for now I'm afraid.
Expect more data in due time on the new Malt Madness website in due time...
 
 

The distillery was acquired in the 1930's by Hiram Waker and Gooderham & Worts Ltd.
Glenburgie is one of those obscure distilleries that produces a malt whisky that is used almost
exclusively in blends, in this case mostly Ballantine's. Not too interesting so far, is it? But there
is something else that sets Glenburgie apart from a lot of other obscure 'production facilities'.

Trivia about Glenburgie: Water has somehow always been in short supply at Glenburgie.
Attempts were made to locate extra sources through boreholes, but without any success.
The problem is alleviated to some extent by storing the neccesary cooling water in a tower
and pumping it back into the distillery dam for continuous recycling - or something like it.

In 1958 two so-called 'Lomond Stills' were installed and used to produce a special malt under
the name 'Glencraig'. This pair of Lomond stills was removed again in 1981 to make room for a
second pair of normal 'neck' stills, so Glencraig was produced for no longer than two decades.
Glencraig was named after Willie Craig, a former production director of the parent company.
Glenburgie is now owned by Pernod Ricard who successfully acquired Allied Domecq in 2005.

More about the difference between normal and 'Lomond' stills: http://www.celticmalts.com/journal-a31.htm.