Raise your glasses to Glenfarclas at Cheltenham

With a winner’s purse of £65,000 the Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeplechase is not the most valuable race on this year’s card for the Cheltenham Festival. But it will be keenly contested nonetheless, not least for the handsome bottle of single malt whisky that accompanies the cheque.

Speyside distillers J & G Grant, proprietors of the Glenfarclas distillery, are well-established as Cheltenham sponsors, their association dating back to 2008. “It’s been a very successful and happy relationship,” says Sales Director George Grant, a sixth generation family member “opening up an entirely new audience for our whisky.”

Racing folk certainly appreciate a good dram, and the independence of outlook that characterises the Glenfarclas operation. The Cheltenham sponsorship, covering three races across the year, provides an opportunity to entertain the distillery’s friends and key customers, while the prominent branding and resultant TV coverage has contributed to the brand’s consistent growth in the UK and other markets.

It also brings in a younger generation of drinkers. With that in mind, I challenged Grant on the growth of gin. “It’s all good for us,” he maintains “people who drink spirits, drink spirits, and everything that grows the overall market is welcome.” Perhaps after a G&T or two people need a ‘real drink’, I suggested. He did not demur!

Be that as may be, the undeniable fact is, that with double-digit sales growth, the distillery is working at close to full capacity, and additional maturing warehouses are under construction. “Keeping everything in stock can be a problem,” Grant sighed. “We recently launched the Family Casks range in a trunk – fifty 20cl bottles of our single malt dating from 1954 to 2003 at a cool £100,000 – and all 60 are now allocated to markets around the world.”

Family Casks range: fifty 20cl bottles of Glenfarclas single malt dating from 1954 to 2003

Like the long-term relationship at Cheltenham, such a range of dated vintages is only possible from a business that values consistency and tried and true associations. The Cross Country Steeplechase, like the whisky business, is not for flashy sprinters, but rewards staying power and steady nerves. Run over 3 miles and 6 furlongs the Glenfarclas Steeplechase is the 5th race on the Ladies Day card on Wednesday 13th March.

Should a modest wager appeal, the early favourite seems likely to be Tiger Roll, a three time Cheltenham winner who carried off the Glenfarclas prize in 2018 at 7/1. Then again, jockey Nina Carberry has won the race four times and in 2019 will be riding the 10 year old Josies Orders, a mount she knows well, for owner John P McManus.

Ten years old. Glenfarclas is just coming into its prime about then. Might this be a signal?

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen – and have a glass handy. For celebration or consolation, a large Glenfarclas single malt is hardly a gamble.