Golden Promise barley
Designed to solve a particular problem, nobody knew the impact Golden Promise would have on the modern day single malt industry. Developed for yield and hardiness it was a welcome addition to the malt scene in the 1960s. These days at well over 50 years old, this heritage strain of barley continues to find new fans. While it can't keep up with the yield of modern barleys, it still wins over many simply due to it's superior flavour profile.
Why is barley important?
Barley is essential to single malt whisky production. It is the only cereal we can use for making malt whisky, but in recent years the barley varietal has taken a back seat in flavour creation when compared to other elements like cask selection, peat level and still shape. This is due to high-yielding strains being selected by distillers over heritage strains that sacrificed some yield in return for more impact on flavour profiles. There is one varietal that is so revered and respected that it bucks this trend: Golden Promise.
How is barley selected?
Each year a recommended list of spring barley varietals is put forward to distillers by the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board. This list takes into account many factors including yield, growing conditions, disease susceptibility and comparisons with other strains advising distillers of the varieties most likely to be economically beneficial to their brewing and distilling programs.
These varietals are usually developed over 3 or 4 years and last around 7 years in circulation before the strain has either weakened in it's specifications or has been overtaken by new strains that have been developed or a combination of both.
What makes Golden Promise so special?
The most impressive thing about Golden Promise is that it has lasted nearly nine times longer than an average strain on the market. It has now been available for commercial selection by malt distillers for nearly 60 years.
Originally, Golden Promise was an answer to a very specific question: can we create a barley strain that can survive in harsher growing conditions, particularly high winds? The plan was to mutate high yielding strains into ones with shorter stalks to resist windy conditions. Over 14,000 strains were developed by exposing them to gamma rays. In 1958 these were assessed for their value to farmers and brewers. In 1962, the best strains were taken for official testing and in 1967 the first commercial crop was grown. In 1968, Golden Promise made the recommended barley list for the first time.
The yield was impressive, but the most surprising element was the flavour. Golden Promise delivered a creaminess, sweetness and oiliness in a spirit that is yet to be surpassed according to many distillers who have used the grain.
So it was bred to answer one question, but ultimately presented answers to another: can a barley strain really affect the flavour of a whisky? These days, Golden Promise is used by only a select few distillers chasing mouthfeel and flavour. Simpsons Malt in the UK have kept the strain alive and have been the sole trademark holders since 2015. Despite new, higher yielding stronger variatels being available, Golden Promise still holds it's own today.
Where can you try Golden Promise single malt whisky in 2026?
Benromach 13 Years Old Golden Promise Barley Edition - created exclusively for The Whisky Club
When Benromach posited a 100% Golden Promise edition for Members of The Whisky Club, we jumped at the chance to get it to our tasting panel. It passed with flying colours. The whiskymakers put forward a bold proposition. It needed to be non-chill-filtered to showcase the barley's mouthfeel in its purest form, and they wanted 100% Sherry maturation to show how the sweet maltiness can push through almost any cask type. The results are spectacular.
- The Benromach 13 Years Old Golden Promise Barley Edition - created exclusively for The Whisky Club - $130
Sign up for free before this weekend to secure a bottle.
The Macallan from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s
Perhaps the most famous advocates for Golden Promise are The Macallan. From the 1960s to 2000s, The Macallan spoke about how Golden Promise made such a difference to their spirit. Speaking to Whisky Magazine in 2002, The Macallan's Master Distiller David Robertson was quoted as saying: “Tests we conducted showed that without Golden Promise the new make spirit lacked guts and oiliness... Using 25% Golden Promise is enough to get the character we want – the gutsy, oily, creaminess that we look for in new make spirit.” These days, the distillery has moved away from Golden Promise, but a few bottlings exist that will showcase old school Macallan spirit:
- The Macallan 30 years old (25% Golden Promise) - $8,000
- The Macallan 10 distilled in the 1970s - $7,000
- The Macallan 1976 Fine and Rare - $35,000
When you hear people lamenting the loss of The Macallan's old style, perhaps the barley plays a bigger part than we give it credit for.
Yamazaki Golden Promise Tsukuriwake
Suntory have always held the traditional methods of whisky making in high regard, and have a reputation for dabbling in them to improve the flavour profiles of the whiskies they make today. Here in Scotland we have seen the fruits of this labour at Glen Garioch which has recently reopened a floor malting and reintroduced direct-fired stills. We are yet to see any results from barley selection, but this Yamazaki Golden Promise expression released in 2024 is proof that it's an area Suntory are doing research in.
- Yamazaki Golden Promise Tsukuriwake - $1,000
Balcones Texas Number 1 Single Malt
America is probably one of the last places you'd expect to find a heritage strain of Scottish barley, but when the craft distillers at Balcones decided to tackle single malt, there was only one variety on their list: Golden Promise. These days it's mixed with local Texas barley, but there's a reason it's still included in the mashbill. Flavour.
- Balcones Number 1 Single Malt - $170
Other distilleries
Other distilleries to use this barley variety recently include Glengoyne, Bruichladdich and Ardnamurchan. All in hard to find limited releases or single casks that were experiments simply to find out what all the fuss was about. As with all things whisky, time will tell if these experiments succeeded enough to change annual barley requirements, but every single one of them attracted commentary about how the spirit was different. Creamier, mouthcoating, oilier and sweeter.
