Glen Keith Distillery, Keith: The Revived Blend Malt

Overview

Glen Keith stands on the banks of the Isla in Keith, just across the river from Strathisla. When it opened in 1958 it was described as the first new distillery in Speyside since the whisky crash of 1898. It was a pioneer. It used triple distillation until 1970, then installed the first gas-fired stills in Scotland, and it served as a laboratory for its owners’ experiments with yeast. It was mothballed in 1999, rebuilt from 2012, and reopened in June 2013. It now belongs to Chivas Brothers and is a key malt in their blends.

Where it is

The distillery is on the edge of Keith, by the River Isla, a short walk from Strathisla and Strathmill. Elgin is about 18 miles west and Aberdeen about 1 hour 15 minutes by the A96. The Keith & Dufftown heritage railway starts in the town.

The full history

1958: the first new Speyside distillery in sixty years

After the collapse of the whisky boom in 1898–99, almost no new distilleries were built in Speyside for half a century. In the 1950s, demand for blended Scotch, especially Chivas Regal, rose again. Glen Keith, opened in 1958, was the first new one in the region since the crash.

A distillery for experiments

Glen Keith was built to triple-distil its spirit, unusual for Speyside. In 1970 it moved to double distillation, added two stills and installed the first gas-fired stills in Scotland. Its owners used it as a laboratory, trying new production methods and developing their own yeast strains. It also made peated malts, called Glenisla and Craigduff.

Closure and rebirth

In the 1990s a Glen Keith 1983 bottling was released, later replaced by a 10-year-old. The distillery was mothballed in 1999. Pernod Ricard, owner of Chivas Brothers since 2001, began rebuilding it in 2012, aiming at about six million litres a year. It reopened in June 2013.

How it’s made

Glen Keith has three wash stills and three spirit stills, with a capacity of about 3.5 million litres a year according to most sources. Water comes from springs on Balloch Hill. The spirit is light and fruity, made mainly for Chivas Brothers blends such as Chivas Regal and Passport.

Saints, clans & the town

• St John Ogilvie, born near Keith in 1579 and executed in Glasgow in 1615, is Scotland’s only post-Reformation saint.
• The Ogilvies held Milton Tower in Keith. The Earls of Findlater laid out New Keith in 1750.
• The Gordons dominated the surrounding country. See Clan Gordon and the Battle of Glenlivet.

Bridges, lochs & stones

• The Auld Brig of Keith (1609), a short walk from the distillery.
• Loch Park, near Drummuir, the wooded loch at the source of the Isla. See our lochs guide.
• Mortlach Kirk, Dufftown, and its Pictish Battle Stone. See our standing stones guide.

Chivas Brothers in Keith

Keith is Chivas Brothers country. The firm began as a grocer’s shop in Aberdeen in the early 19th century and grew into a major blender. Its famous Chivas Regal blend was launched in 1909. In 1950 the company bought Strathisla, across the river from Glen Keith, and it is now known as the spiritual home of Chivas Regal. Glen Keith was built a few years later to supply more malt. Chivas’s large bottling and blending operations nearby made Keith one of the busiest whisky towns in Speyside.

Visiting

Glen Keith is production only, with no visitor centre or tours. Its sister distillery Strathisla, across the river, has one of the best visitor centres in Speyside.

Nearby distilleries

• Strathisla and Strathmill, both in Keith.
• Aultmore (about 2.5 miles).
• Glentauchers and Auchroisk (about 4–5 miles).
• Knockdhu, Knock (about 9 miles).

The Speyside Whisky Trail and the whisky hub cover the region.

Sources

• Glen Keith distillery — Wikipedia.
• Chivas Brothers / Pernod Ricard.