Blair Athol

When here at the Best of Whiskies headquarters the conversation comes down to highly underestimated distilleries, the Blair Athol Distillery definitely isn’t surpassed. Our personal favorite and to us, definitely no stranger in the midst among the high-quality scotch single malt whiskies! One of this distillery’s the most renowned entry-level editions is the Blair Athol 12 Years Old, the counterpart of the rare and limited 27 Years Old Rare Malts Selection. This Highlands whisky is best characterized for its fresh scents of wood and greenery, and its taste of licorice, tea and caramel.

The Blair Athol Distillery is actually one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, as its historical roots go back as early as the year 1798, when it was founded by Robert Robinson and John Stewart. However, the legal restrictions mandatory for legal whisky distilling at that time led to disproportionately high tax rates, by which the expenses of maintaining the Blair Athol Distillery didn’t meet the required benefits to secure its existence. The distillery was shut down shortly after its establishment, until it was reopened around 1826, shortly after the Excise Act. The man responsible for this rebirth was John Robertson. Operations continued shortly after, and the following decade things worked out smoothly for the Blair Athol Distillery.

Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the Blair Athol Distillery changed ownership multiple times, until it was finally shut down in 1932. One year later the distillery was acquired by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd., who had the distillery renovated and updated and resumed its production in 1949. Two extra stills were added in 1970, by which the production capacity was doubled. The Blair Athol Distillery had produced continuously ever since. Artur Bell & Sons was acquired by Guinness in 1985, which on it turn was taken over by Diageo.