Aberfeldy Distillery, Highlands

The Aberfeldy distillery lies on the south bank of the Tay river in the North of the Midlands in the very heart of Scotland. The name 'Aberfeldy' (just as any names with the prefixes 'Aber', 'Lhan', 'Pit' or 'Fin') implies the existence of a Pictish settlement in the nearby area. The tribe of Picts were the early settlers of Scoland, before the arrival of the Celtic tribe from Ireland known as the 'Scotti'.

Established in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons, Aberfeldy started operating in 1898. Tommy Dewar, one of the founders and a pioneer in the production of blend whisky, was the third person in Britain ever to buy a car, after Thomas Lipton (of the tea merchants) and the Prince of Wales. The distillery was essentially created with the single purpose to produce the malt needed for the production of Dewars’ blends. The single malt from Aberfeldy enters in the composition of the famous blend Dewar's White Label, Scottish Leader and Johnnie Walker.

The distillery business prospered (aside a brief closure during the second World War), aided by the fact that it was conveniently located near the Aberfeldy-Perth railway. In 1998 John Dewar & Sons (a subsidiary of Bacardi) acquired back Aberfeldy from United Distillers (Diageo). Aberfeldy is still an important component in today's 'Dewar's' and 'White Label' blends.