Aberlour

In 1945 S. Campbell & Sons, a Glasgow blending and bottling firm, bought Aberlour as its first distillery.^2,3,6 In 1950 Arnold Campbell and Jack Ross set up the Aberlour-Glenlivet Distillery Co., with most shares held by the Commercial Bank of Scotland.⁶ In 1960 steam heating replaced direct firing of the stills.^7,8 The last malting floor was turned in 1962, and the wooden washbacks came out around the same time.^4,7,8 The move from two stills to four in 1973 met demand for its malt in the Dewar's blend.^2,3,5

In 1974 Pernod Ricard bought S. Campbell & Sons, and Aberlour with it.^2,4,6 In 2001 Pernod Ricard bought Chivas Brothers and merged it with Campbell Distillers, which held Aberlour.^2,3,6 Graeme Cruickshank became master distiller in 2015, when Douglas Cruickshank retired.^9,10 The master distiller noses every batch of new spirit each day.^9,10

In September 2020 Moray Council approved a phased rebuild, and in April 2022 Chivas Brothers said its capacity would double to 7.8 million litres of alcohol a year.^11,12,13 Eight new copper stills followed: the first four were in by December 2024, and the rest were due by June 2025.^11,12,13

Today its water comes from the nearby Birkenbush springs.^2,10,13 It uses unpeated malt.^2,8 Fermentation lasts 48 hours in stainless steel washbacks.^2,8 Internal steam pans heat the stills from inside, and shell and tube condensers cool the still vapour.² Aberlour describes its new spirit as a delicate distillate.^2,8,10