Pittyvaich

Pittyvach was a utilitarian-looking distillery which was built for purely commercial purposes and was Arthur Bell & Sons’ response to the sudden leap in the brand’s fortunes in the 1970s when it became Britain’s top-selling blend and anything seemed possible. The firm already ran the Dufftown distillery and so in 1975 erected a shed next door and installed two – eventually four – stills inside. Bell’s was bought by Guinness in 1985, with the latter firm going on to controversially purchase DCL the year after to form United Distillers. A period of rationalisation of distilling capacity followed and Pittyvaich was considered as surplus to requirements. It closed in 1993 and was demolished in 2002. This expression, hailing from a distillery long since shuttered, underwent a lengthy aging process spanning 29 years. During this time, it benefited from a dual maturation process, finding its home in casks previously used to season Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry. Its final destination was a bottling at a formidable 51.4% alcohol by volume.