Blair Athol

Photo credit: @slainte88 on instagram

Another 'nutty-spicy' distilleries of old Bell's, and one on the bolder side. It was originally named 'Aldour', after the Allt Dour burn the distillery draws it water from, but closed soon after opening.

About

It's nuttiness is a product of short fermentation, enhanced after distillation. Its rich, deep, malt-loaf character comes from controlled solids inside the wash. The distillate is matured in ex-Sherry, and ex-Bourbon for blending purposes.

History

Founded in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson, the distillery underwent a series of ownership changes until it was purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons in 1933. Arthur Bell & Sons was itself purchased by Guinness in 1985 and is now owned by Diageo.
The central Perthshire town of Pitlochry has always had a distillery since 1798 called Aldour after its water source, but changed to Blair Athol after a village up north--or to appease to Duke of Athol who owned the land.
With Bell's rise as UK's top-selling blended Scotch in 1970s, Blair Athol doubled in capacity. A visitor centre opens for the first time in 1987. Under Diageo, Blair Athol shone inside Flora & Fauna.
The vast majority of Blair Athol spirit is designated for blending and is matured in bourbon casks whereas the single malt portion is matured in sherry casks.

Highland Region

Highland is the greatest of all whisky regions and provides a huge variety of different flavours and characters. It goes from the lighter whiskies all the way through salty coastal malts.

While malts from the West Highland distilleries tend to have a sweet start and dryish finish, the far North Highland malts character are greatly influenced by the local soil and the coastal location of the distilleries giving light bodied whiskies with a spicy character and a dryish finish, sometimes with a trace of saltiness. Central, Southern and Eastern Highland malt whiskies are generally quite a mixed bunch. Fruity and sweet. They are lighter bodied with a tendency to have a dry finish.

Buy a cask of Blair Athol whisky

The Single Cask has some great Blair Athol casks in our warehouses.  If you're interested in buying a cask of Blair Athol, please contact us today for a free, no obligation quote.  We can also offer a range of bottling services, making the whole process of creating your very own whisky easy.

Sell a cask of Blair Athol whisky

The Single Cask has a great history of buying and bottling single cask Blair Athol whisky.  Often we buy our casks direct from the distillery, but we are also pleased to buy Blair Athol casks from private individuals.  If you have a Blair Athol cask that you're looking to sell, please contact us today for a free, no obligation, quote on how much we could pay you for your cask.