Blair Athol whisky distillery
Diageo’s most overlooked one! Being the basis of
Blair Athol was originally named Aldour after the local burn.
Blair Athol factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blair Athol | blair ath*ull | Aldour | Highlands |
| Country of Origin | Status | Active | Whisky Type |
| Scotland | Active | 1798 - Present | Malt |
| Website | Tours Available | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Blair Athol | Tour Link | Diageo |
Blair Athol equipment & site
| Still maker | Abercrombie |
|---|
What Blair Athol makes
Whisky
- Blair Athol 12
- Bell's (blend)
Shop: at the distillery.
Blair Athol Timeline:
No events match the current filters. Show all.
- 1798Established by John Stewart and Robert Robertson named Aldour Distillery after the nearby river Allt Dour, meaning "Burn of the Otter". This is not a success, probably because of the heavy excise duties on whisky, and the distillery shut
- 1825The distillery is expanded by Robert Robertson and renamed Blair Athol Distillery (1825-26 mentioned as well)
- 1826The Duke of Atholl leases the distillery to Alexander Connacher & Co.
- 1827-29Alexander Connacher & Co.
- 1829-42Peter Fraser & Co.
- 1832The distillery closes
- 1852Alexander Conacher & Co. (Connacher ?)
- 1860-82Elizabeth Conacher (Connacher ?)
- 1882Purchased and enlarged by P. MacKenzie & Co. (Peter Mackenzie, born in Glenlivet, described himself as a wine and spirit broker of 17A South Castle Street, Liverpool). Two new granaries and malting floors were added
- 1886Capacity of over 1,500 gallons (6,800 litres) per week
- 1897P. Mackenzie & Co. Distillers Ltd. formed to take over P. Mackenzie & Co. and the Dufftown-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd.
- Turn of the centuryCapacity for 100,000 gallons (454,000 litres)
- 1932Distillery closes
- 1933P. Mackenzie & Co. Distillers Ltd. purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd., but distillery not used until 1949
- 1949Distillery rebuilt and reopened
- 1970Stills become steamheated, and are increased from two to four
- 1975Dark-grain plant
- 1985Guinness Group buys Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd.
- 1987A visitor centre is built
- 1992Licensed to Arthur Bell & Sons plc
- 1999Owned by United Distillers & Vintners Ltd. (UDV)
- 2003Capacity is increased to 38,000 litres per week
- 2004Owned by Diageo plc
Drag, swipe or scroll sideways · use ‹ ›
Useful Blair Athol links:
Interesting Blair Athol links:
Can I tour Blair Athol?
Yes Blair Athol distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 1,538 of 2,000 tours to date. This gives Blair Athol an overall rating of 4.5