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 Aultmore
Distillery lies several miles north of the town of Keith
on the eastern fringe of Speyside. The distillery was
established by Alexander Edwards in 1895. Edwards also
owned the Benrinnes Distillery
and in 1898, he acquired the Oban
Distillery, creating the "Oban and Aultmore-Glenliver
Distilleries Ltd".
Initially, the Aultmore Distillery did very well and doubled
productionin the first few years. Unfortunately, trouble
was just around the corner. Edwards had been a large supplier
of bulk whisky to Pattison's of Leith, a major blending
company. But in 1898, Pattison's collapsed and as a result,
Edwards was hit very hard.
Although production continued at Aultmore, times were
often difficult. Pattison’s downfall led to a surplus
of Speyside Malt whisky on the market, prohibition in
America and the 1920s depression also took their toll.
In 1923, Dewar's purchased Aultmore along with Ord, Parkmore
and and Pultney distilleries in order to earmark more
raw materials for their blend. Aultmore, which was highly
respected by blenders, was considered topnotch in its
class.
As in many malt whisky areas, a thriving illicit still
community existed. The numerous burns and the peaty springs
of the Foggie Moss provided the water, and the publicans
in Keith were willing customers. Not all the smugglers
were men and one of the better-known operators selling
‘small-still’ whisky was a woman called Jane
Milne!
In 1971, the Aultmore Distillery was rebuilt and a second
pair of stills were added to the original pair. Virtually
nothing remains of the original distillery. Shortly thereafter,
it was purchased by United Vintners & Distillers (UVD)
and then in 1998, Bacardi - which is the parent company
of Dewar's - bought the Aultmore Distillery. |
