Blair Athol
The Blair Athol distillery is very old. It was founded back in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson under the name of 'Aldour distillery' it was not very successful and soon had to close. Read more about it below.↓
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| Scotland, Highlands | |
| -3.721533 56.697833 | |
| Active | |
| Diageo | |
| 8 t | |
| 1798 | |
| 2,500,000 l |
| Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
i
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|---|---|---|
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Nosing
Sweet:
Fruit:
Sherry:
Spices:
Zitrus:
Oak:
Vanilla:
Malt:
Peat Smoke:
Caramel:
Herb:
Chocolate:
Honey:
Herbs:
Nuts:
Apple:
Raisin:
Barley:
Dark Chocolate:
Leather:
Berries:
Banana:
Almonds:
Pepper:
Orange:
Pineapple:
Lemon:
Cinnamon:
Pear:
Blackberry:
Lime:
Peach:
Dried Fruit:
Tropical Fruit:
Plum:
Floral:
Clove:
Alcohol:
Mint:
Cake:
Anis:
Grass:
Nutmeg:
Ham:
Heather:
Melon:
Tobacco:
Lemon Peel:
Date:
Grape:
Wheat:
Grapefruit:
Coffee:
Oil:
Cherry:
Hay:
Ginger:
Bonfire Smoke:
Medicinal Smoke:
Green Apple:
Fig:
Strawberry:
Tasting
Sweet:
Fruit:
Spices:
Sherry:
Oak:
Nuts:
Caramel:
Oil:
Chocolate:
Malt:
Peat Smoke:
Honey:
Zitrus:
Herb:
Herbs:
Vanilla:
Banana:
Plum:
Pepper:
Dried Fruit:
Raisin:
Almonds:
Apple:
Ginger:
Coffee:
Pear:
Mint:
Orange:
Dark Chocolate:
Peach:
Melon:
Berries:
Blackberry:
Grape:
Chili:
Hazelnut:
Floral:
Fig:
Heather:
Anis:
Cake:
Leather:
Wheat:
Cinnamon:
Lemon:
Hay:
Maritime Notes:
Date:
Barley:
Seaweed:
Alcohol:
Tropical Fruit:
Bonfire Smoke:
Tobacco:
Green Apple:
Grapefruit:
Pineapple:
Black Currant:
Grass:
Salt:
Kiwi:
Clove:
Cherry:
Nutmeg:
Lemon Peel:
Finish
Oak:
Sherry:
Spices:
Sweet:
Fruit:
Herb:
Malt:
Nuts:
Peat Smoke:
Dark Chocolate:
Pepper:
Vanilla:
Chocolate:
Oil:
Herbs:
Honey:
Coffee:
Tobacco:
Chili:
Cinnamon:
Alcohol:
Plum:
Berries:
Dried Fruit:
Pineapple:
Barley:
Caramel:
Floral:
Zitrus:
Heather:
Leather:
Nutmeg:
Clove:
Almonds:
Date:
Hay:
Grape:
Banana:
Tropical Fruit:
Cake:
Strawberry:
Mint:
Cherry:
Pear:
Bonfire Smoke:
Ginger:
Blackberry:
Green Apple:
Raisin:
Apple:
|
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The Whisky
There is only one official distillery bottling of the Blair Athol Distillery, the Blair Athol 12-year-old. The distillery character can be described as strong and voluminous. The Whiskies at Blair Athol are mostly matured in Sherry casks and therefore rather sweet.
A lot of the Blair Athol Whisky is enjoyed as Single Malt is bottled by independent bottlers. Here you get the true character of the distillery, a good Highland Malt.
Most of the Whisky from the Blair Athol distillery goes into the Blend production. It is used in Bell's blended Scotch Whisky, a product of the Diageo company. Here the sweetness and the spiciness from the rich European oak casks are used as a spice in the Blended Whisky.
The Production
The output of the distillery is about 2.5 million litres of alcohol per year. Blair Athol distilles on four pot stills, and the water comes from the Allt Dour Burn.
The Pot Stills
There are two wash stills with 13,000 litres capacity each and two spirit stills with about 12,000 litres capacity. The stills are very pear-shaped with no reflux bowl or constricting pieces. This is important for the rough Highland character.
The Malting
Formerly Blair Athol got its malt from the UD maltings, which today is one of the Diageo suppliers.
The Warehouse
The warehouses are flat and bricked with old heavy stones - a perfect place for the Whisky to mature in a moist and rather chilled environment.
History
The Blair Athol distillery is very old. It was founded back in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson under the name of 'Aldour distillery'. However, it was not very successful and soon had to close. In 1825 the distillery was enlarged and reopened by John Robertson under the name Blair Athol. Right before the second world war the distillery was acquired by Arthur Bell & Sons. Shortly afterwards the distillery was mothballed again. In 1949, when the economy had picked up again, the distillery was renovated and reopened. Later Bells was bought by Diageo, and they are still the owners today.
The Visitor Centre
There is a visitor centre and a shop where you can buy all the bottlings of Blair Athol and Bell's blended Scotch. The top tour includes a visit of the production and the warehouses as well as a tasting directly from the cask.
Blair Athol Distillery
Perth Road
Pitlochry
Perthshire
PH16 5LY
Tel: +44 (0)1796-482003
Email: blair.athol@malts.com
User Notes about the Distillery
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