Abbot's Choice
In the 1960s ceramic monks filled with Scotch sold as far afield as Peru.
Pittyvaich
Distillery & brand
Originally built to aid demand for Bell's blended whisky, Pittyvaich sadly grew surplus to requirements.
Pittyvaich distillery
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Not commonly seen, Pittyvaich shows an estery top note which rise above the classic Bell’s ‘nutty-spicy’ house style. It was bottled – from Sherry cask – as part of the Flora & Fauna range while there are occasional bottlings from Diageo’s annual Special Release programme.
Pittyvaich History
Pittyvach was a utilitarian-looking distillery which was built for purely commercial purposes and was Arthur Bell & Sons’ response to the sudden leap in the brand’s fortunes in the 1970s when it became Britain’s top-selling blend and anything seemed possible.
The firm already ran the Dufftown distillery and so in 1975 erected a shed next door and installed two – eventually four – stills inside. Bell’s was bought by Guinness in 1985, with the latter firm going on to controversially purchase DCL the year after to form United Distillers. A period of rationalisation of distilling capacity followed and Pittyvaich was considered as surplus to requirements. It closed in 1993 and was demolished in 2002.
Timeline
- 1975 Pittyvaich distillery is built by Arthur Bell & Sons next door to its Dufftown distillery
- 1985 Bell’s is bought by Guinness
- 1986 Guinness buys DCL to form United Distillers
- 1991 A 12-year-old is released under the Flora & Fauna range
- 1993 The distillery is closed
- 2002 Diageo demolishes Pittyvaich
Owners
Current owner
- Diageo 1997 - present
Previous owners
- United Distillers 1986 - 1997
- Guinness UDV 1985 - 1986
- Arthur Bell & Sons 1975 - 1985
Contact
- Address
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Pittyvaich Distillery
Dufftown
Moray
AB55 4BR
United Kingdom
Map
See also
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Brand
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Brand
Benmore
A long established blend from an old Glasgow whisky firm, that is still popular in Asia.
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Brand
Bulloch Lade
A popular 20th century blend named after one of the great Glasgow whisky firms – Bulloch Lade.
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Brand
Chequers
A sister brand to Abbot’s Choice, Chequers was an occasional deluxe blend from John McEwan & Co.