Chivas Brothers invests in Aberlour and Miltonduff distilleries

Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, has announced a £88 million investment into Aberlour and Miltonduff, two of its strategic single malt distilleries. The investment will go into upgrading sustainable distillation technologies at the speyside distilleries along with significant production capacity expansions to meet the growing global demand for Scotch. 

The distillery expansions will grow Chivas Brothers’ total production by 14 million litres of alcohol per annum. The distillery expansions will also serve to accelerate Chivas Brothers’ ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutral distillation by 2026 with the installation of new bio plants and high-efficiency Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) fan technology for pot still distillation across both sites.

This mechanism enables a major energy recovery by compressing the vapour which then rises in temperature and is sent back to heat the stills during the distillation process.

The Aberlour distillery, which has been producing whisky since 1879, will see its production capacity double to 7.8 million litres of alcohol per annum. This additional capacity will support the accelerating global demand for the cult favourite Scotch, which continues to be the best-selling single malt whisky in France and has made significant gains across Asia.

The distillery will also undergo a significant facelift with an upgraded visitor centre which will draw more whisky fans to the area and boost local tourism. A new still house will be equipped with large windows providing visitors with views into the nearby woods and the River Spey; the water source for the spirit.

Miltonduff’s expansion will consist of a brand new state-of-the-art sustainable distillery built next to the existing facility. The distillery, which will include a bio plant and evaporator, will add 10 million litres of alcohol per annum to the total production capacity.

Miltonduff single malt is one of the foundations of Ballantine’s blends and is a key component of other blended whiskies in the Chivas Brothers portfolio. This increased capacity will further accelerate Ballantine’s pace of growth which in HY22 results saw global sales rise by +29 percent, fuelled by a range of new expressions.