Strathisla distillery is a

Speyside single malt Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whisky, whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, Scotland, Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland. The two best-selling single malt whiski ...

Scotch whisky distillery in

Keith, Moray Keith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Chèith'', or ''Cèith Mhaol Rubha'' (archaic)) is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of 4,734. Keith is historically in Banffshire, a name which persists in c ...

. Is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Scottish Highlands.

History

Strathisla distillery was founded as the Milltown distillery by George Taylor and Alexander Milne in 1786 as an alternative to the waning of the

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

dressing industry. They leased the land from the

Earl of Seafield Earl of Seafield is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for James Ogilvie, who in 1711 succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Findlater. The earldoms of Findlater and Seafield continued to be united until 1811, when the earl ...

. The name "Strathisla" comes from the Strathisla River, which flows nearby, as well as the Gaelic "Strath" (meaning valley) and "Isla," the name of the river. By the mid-1800s, Strathisla's ownership changed several times .In 1879, the distillery suffered terribly from a fire, but was rebuilt with a bottling plant. it was later acquired in 1950 by. During the 19th century, the distillery was modernized, and production was streamlined. In 1950 James Barclay bought Strathisla for £71,000 at auction in behalf of

Seagram Company The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian ...

. Seagram subsidiary

Chivas Brothers Chivas Brothers is a Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky. It is owned by Pernod Ricard since 2001. The company was founded in 1786, with its home being in the Strathisla distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland, and is the o ...

began using it as the cornerstone of their

Chivas Regal Chivas Regal () is a blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Scotland. History Chivas Regal was created in 1909 by Chivas Brothers Master Blender Charles Stewart Howard as a 25-year-old luxury wh ...

blended whisky. During this time the distillery undergo significant modernization, as Strathisla upgraded its facilities and expanded its production capacity. In 2001, Seagram’s whisky operations, including Chivas Brothers and Strathisla, were acquired by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

, a global spirits company.

Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail

Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail Eight malt whisky distilleries and a cooperage form the Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland's Speyside. Seven of the eight distilleries are in production and operational, whilst the Dallas Dhu distillery is a historic distillery. The Malt Whisky Trai ...

is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries including Strathisla, a historic distillery (Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and the

Speyside Cooperage The Speyside Cooperage is a cooperage located in Craigellachie, Aberlour, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, ...

. According to a BBC article, visitors can tour the "traditional warehouse where the single malts that make up the premium and super premium blends are stored ... nd try thedistinctive mellow honey flavour, offering a full, nutty, balanced whisky". File:StrathislaDistillery-pjt2.jpg, Stills File:StrathislaDistillery-pjt3.jpg, Warehouse

History

Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail

See also

References

Further reading