Scotch Whisky-Special Blends List

Langs Supreme Address: Lang Brothers Ltd., 100 West Nile Street, Glasgow. Parent company: Robertson and Baxter Ltd. The name of Lang first became associated with wines and spirits in the 1850s when Hugh Lang kept an inn in the then rapidly expanding port of Glasgow.

His three sons saw wider commercial possibilities opening up as Glasgow and the Clyde area developed as an industrial and commercial centre. In 1861 they founded Lang Brothers Limited as wine and spirit merchants. Fifteen years later they bought the Glengoyne Distillery in Stirlingshire.

From this base Lang's developed an international business with their blends of Scotch whisky. Lang's remained a family controlled business until its acquisition in 1965 by Robertson and Baxter ltd. Glengoyne single malt whisky is at the heart of the Lang's blends.

Long John Address: Long John Distilleries, Westthorn, 1780 London Road, Glasgow. Parent company: Whitbread and Co. plc. . This blend is named after Long John Macdonald who in 1825 built a distillery at Fort William called the Ben Nevis Distillery. His original whisky was called Long John's Dew of Ben Nevis. Queen Victoria visited Long John in his distillery in 1848 and the Illustrated London News recorded that he presented her with a cask of whisky. She ordered it to be kept back until the Prince of Wales attained his majority.

MacAndrew's Address: Alistair Graham Ltd., 186 Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburth. Parent company: Macdonald and Muir Ltd. MacAndrew's is named after Lord Douglas MacAndrew, a famous Scottish gentleman of the 19th century.

The 'Laird' was a colourful character renowned for his fine horsemanship and love of farming which were practised on his estate near Inverness. The bottle label features the 'Laird' on horseback in front of his stately home. He tried to improve the standard of whisky be experimenting with new agricultural methods to produce a better quality yield of grain for whisky production.

Major Gunn's Address: I86 Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburgh. Parent company: Macdonald and Muir Ltd. Named after a well known soldier in Scottish history Major Gunn was a descendant of the Chief of the Clan Gunn who were based in Caithness from the 12th to the 15th centuries.

Morton's Blended Address: George Morton Ltd., Chapel Bond, Eastern Road, Montrose. Parent company: Amalgamated Distilled Products plc. The company has blended and bottled whisky for well over a century. Mellow full bodied clean taste smooth. Dark colour.

Muirhead's Address: Charles Muirhead and Son Ltd., I86 Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburgh. Parent company: Macdonald and Muir Ltd. The company was established in Edinburgh in 1824 as a wine merchants. Acquiring another wine shipping company a century later the company branched out into Scotch whisky blending bottling and exporting. Clean taste smooth medium bodied.