Blair Athol is a distinctive single malt whisky that belongs to the “nutty-spicy” camp, a style that traces its roots to the old Bell’s distilleries. Blair Athol brings the “nutty” aspect to its boldest expression. The distillery’s process starts with cloudy worts and a short fermentation period, which helps develop a nutty base. However, it is the distillation process that adds the real depth and weight to the whisky. The controlled level of solids in the wash still creates a rich, deep, malt-loaf character that becomes more pronounced in its new make spirit.
This bold character makes Blair Athol particularly well-suited for maturation in ex-Sherry casks, although for blending purposes, much of its production is placed in ex-Bourbon barrels. The whisky showcases a complex profile, with a strong malt backbone and a slight nutty character that pairs beautifully with the richness of Sherry casks.
Blair Athol distillery is located in the central Perthshire town of Pitlochry, on the banks of the River Tay, and boasts a distillery history dating back to 1798, making it one of the oldest legal whisky-making sites in Scotland. The original distillery was named Aldour after the burn supplying its process water but was renamed Blair Athol in 1825, likely to curry favor with the Duke of Athol, who owned the surrounding land.
In 1886, Blair Athol became part of the Peter Mackenzie blending house but faced economic struggles during the 1930s, leading to its closure between 1932 and 1949. During this time, the Mackenzie estate, which also included Dufftown distillery, was acquired by the Perth-based blender, Arthur Bell & Sons.
As Bell’s became one of the UK’s top-selling blended Scotch brands in the 1970s, Blair Athol’s production capacity was doubled. In 1985, Guinness acquired Bell’s (which later became part of Diageo), and a visitor center was opened at the distillery in 1987. In the 1980s, in an effort to capitalize on the growing single malt market, Bell’s began bottling Blair Athol as an eight-year-old expression. However, in the Diageo era, it has primarily been available as part of the Flora & Fauna range at 12 years of age, matured in first-fill ex-Sherry casks, a mark of the distillery’s signature character.
