Aberfeldy Distillery

The origin of Aberfeldy single malt whisky can be found in 1896 when John Dewar & Sons began construction of a new distillery in Perthshire in the Southern Highlands region of Scotland. The area where they chose to build is considered to be the heart of Scotland, both historically and geographically.

The Dewar family weren’t dipping their toes in the whisky market for the first time with Aberfeldy. By then they already had an established business selling blended whisky in the UK and around the world. Brothers John and Tommy Dewar had taken over the family business in 1880 and began a period of rapid expansion using Tommy’s skills as a dazzling salesman.

By 1890 the Dewars had outgrown the capacity of their old distillery and needed a larger facility to produce single malt for their blend. This led to the foundation of Aberfeldy in 1896 just outside the town of the same name. The new distillery would be built just a short distance from where the brothers’ father had been born in the village of Dull.

Aberfeldy began producing single malt whisky in 1898, drawing water from Pitilie Burn which runs right past the distillery. Initially meant to just supply spirit for Dewar’s blended whisky, in the time since then Aberfeldy single malt has grown in popularity in its own right.

Though Aberfeldy has always stayed under the umbrella of John Dewar & Sons, that company itself has changed hands several times. It first became part of Distillers Company Limited in 1925. After almost three quarters of a century Bacardi bought John Dewar & Sons from Diageo in 1998 and retain it to this day.

The distillery is equipped with 11 washbacks, eight of larch and three of stainless steel, along with four traditional tall pot stills. The maturation process now takes place elsewhere in Scotland and the old warehouses have been retained as they were for tours and the Cask Tasting with visitors. Aberfeldy whiskies are known for their honey gold colour, with a sweet and malty palate to match.

The core range of 12, 16, and 21 year old malts are matured in American Oak ex-bourbon casks that add to the smoothness of the whisky. But in recent years Aberfeldy have branched out with different wood finishes. These include two bottlings with a madeira finish and an 18 year old finished in port casks.