Allt-a-Bhainne Distillery — Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Allt-a-Bhainne Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Glen Rinnes, near Dufftown, Speyside, Scotland. It was founded in 1975 and is currently owned by Chivas Brothers, part of Pernod Ricard. Built primarily to supply malt whisky for blends such as Chivas Regal, it is one of Speyside's more obscure distilleries, with official single malt bottlings remaining scarce even today.

History

Allt-a-Bhainne ("burn of milk" in Gaelic) was built in 1975 by Seagram, the drinks group that then owned Chivas Brothers, during a wave of Speyside distillery expansion driven by booming demand for blended Scotch. Production began the following year. For its time, the distillery was notably modern: all of the plant was housed in a single, largely automated building, allowing the whole process, from mashing to distillation, to be run by a small team. The site draws its process water from the Scurran and Rowantree burns on the slopes of Ben Rinnes.

Ownership passed to Pernod Ricard in 2001 when the French drinks group acquired Seagram's spirits and wine business, including Chivas Brothers. Allt-a-Bhainne was mothballed in 2002 amid a wider industry downturn in demand for malt whisky for blending, then recommissioned and returned to production in 2005. Throughout its history the distillery's output has gone almost entirely into blended whiskies, and it has rarely been bottled as a single malt by its owner. In September 2018, Chivas Brothers released Allt-a-Bhainne's first official single malt as part of a limited Speyside-focused range, drawing attention to a distillery that whisky writers have long described as one of the region's most under-the-radar producers. Most single malt expressions that do reach the market come from independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail, which has released Allt-a-Bhainne under its Connoisseurs Choice range.

Quick Facts

• Region: Speyside, Scotland
• Founded: 1975
• Owner: Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 4 (2 wash stills, 2 spirit stills)

Core Range

Allt-a-Bhainne has no permanent core range of official single malt bottlings; the vast majority of its production is used in Chivas Brothers blends, including Chivas Regal. A limited official single malt release appeared in 2018 as part of a Speyside range (around 40% ABV). Beyond that, the distillery's character is best known through independent bottlings, notably Gordon & MacPhail's Connoisseurs Choice series, which has released vintage-dated Allt-a-Bhainne expressions showing light, fruity Speyside spirit with notes of orchard fruit, honey and soft oak.