White Horse Distillers blend from the 1980s. More traditionally, the higher priced variations of White Horse have been the preserve of a subsidiary brand, currently known as Logan Heritage. It has been around under that name since 2014 when Diageo removed the “12 years old” tag which had applied to its predecessors known variously as Laird O’ Logan, Logan Deluxe or just Logan. With a strong following in Portugal, this deluxe version of White Horse is almost as old as the original blend registered in 1891 and appeared a decade later as a tribute to Peter Mackie’s late uncle, James Logan Mackie. Previously known as Logan’s Perfection and Logan’s Superb, it appeared in the 1960’s as Logan’s Extra Age Superb.

The origins of White Horse Distillers dates back to 1880 and the foundation of whisky merchants, James Logan Mackie & Co. After just fours years in business, the company bought a stake in Islay’s Lagavulin distillery, which trained the art of distilling and blending to James’ nephew, Peter Mackie. He joined the company in 1980, launching the now famous White Horse blend the following year. When Peter Mackie died in 1924, the company was reorganised as White Horse Distillers, and became part of DCL in 1927. The distilling empire granted it the licenses for Lagavulin and Glen Elgin distilleries, but eventually limited its blend to export markets. Its modern iteration, Diageo, eventually dissolved the company in 2010.