Blair Athol 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 | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blair Athol | blair ath*ull | Aldour | Highlands | Scotland |
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Active | 1798 - Present | Malt | Blair Athol | Tour Link |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Shane Fraser | Diageo |
Blair Athol Timeline:
1798: Established 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
1825: The distillery is expanded by Robert Robertson and renamed Blair Athol Distillery (1825-26 mentioned as well)
1826: The Duke of Atholl leases the distillery to Alexander Connacher & Co.
1827-29: Alexander Connacher & Co.
1829-42: Peter Fraser & Co.
1832: The distillery closes
1852: Alexander Conacher & Co. (Connacher ?)
1860-82: Elizabeth Conacher (Connacher ?)
1882: Purchased 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
1886: Capacity of over 1,500 gallons (6,800 litres) per week
1897: P. Mackenzie & Co. Distillers Ltd. formed to take over P. Mackenzie & Co. and the Dufftown-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd.
Turn of the century: Capacity for 100,000 gallons (454,000 litres)
1932: Distillery closes
1933: P. Mackenzie & Co. Distillers Ltd. purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd., but distillery not used until 1949
1949: Distillery rebuilt and reopened
1970: Stills become steamheated, and are increased from two to four
1975: Dark-grain plant
1985: Guinness Group buys Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd.
1987: A visitor centre is built
1992: Licensed to Arthur Bell & Sons plc
1999: Owned by United Distillers & Vintners Ltd. (UDV)
2003: Capacity is increased to 38,000 litres per week
2004: Owned by Diageo plc
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 1538 of 2,000 tours to date. This gives Blair Athol an overall rating of 4.5
Latest reviews
Very Good Taster Class
by Amy_PennyP
The masterclass we took part in was fantastic. Andrew who took the class was very funny and welcoming. It is great value for money, and to make it even better you get one of the shot glasses as part of the package and 10% off in the shop. Highly recommend (the whisky was nice too)
Excellent
by Rgrbg
Went with my husband as he loves his whisky which unfortunately i hate but the whisky cocktail was lovely.Caroline who was our guide was amazing very informative and was excellent at her job full of great knowledge. I was dreading this tour as originally our friends where coming and the men were doing this and the woman were doing something else but unfortunately couldn't manage and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it .
Fantastic Distillery Tour. Worth Every Minute!
by Racheli D
Small, beautiful distillery in the sweetest town. Our guide, Caroline, was knowledgable and engaging. The tasting at the end was lovely. We really enjoyed our time there!
| Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 1,538 |
| Very good | 354 |
| Average | 76 |
| Poor | 16 |
| Terrible | 17 |
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