Strathmill’s story
Strathmill is a little known but productive single malt distillery in the Speyside town of Keith. It is one of three distilleries in the town – Glen Keith and Strathisla, both owned by Chivas Brothers, being the other two. Strathmill means ‘mill in the valley’ – the word ‘strath’ translating as ‘shallow valley or dip’.
The distillery is an unassuming workhorse distillery. It is tucked away off the main road that goes through Keith, between the River Isla and Aberdeen-Inverness railway line. It quietly goes about its business of producing high quality single malt for use in Diageo’s extensive range of blended Scotch whiskies. You could almost miss it if you did not know it was there.
For much of the second half of its life, the Strathmill distillery has been dominated by its association with the J&B Rare brand. It remains a key ingredient in the popular blended whisky today and the signage at the distillery entrance conveys this. It is also used in other Diageo blends such as Johnnie Walker, and previously in the now-defunct Dunhill brand.
Strathmill’s history
Strathmill was founded in 1891 and originally named as Glenisla-Glenlivet, following the trend at the time for Speyside distilleries to include the name of Glenlivet as a mark of quality. This was largely phased out during the mid-20th century. The whisky boom of the late Victorian era saw the old corn mill in the Speyside town of Keith converted to a distillery.
W. & A. Gilbey took control in 1895 and immediately changed the name to Strathmill. They were primarily a gin making company and shared production between whisky and gin for several years, before concentrating solely on single malt. In 1962 a major change took place – W. & A. Gilbey merged with United Wine Traders (UWT) to form International Distillers & Vintners (IDV). UWT also owned Justerini & Brooks, the old famous London-based wine and spirits’ merchant.
The merger kicked off Strathmill’s long association with the J&B brand. Capacity was doubled as the spirit became an integral part of the J&B Rare recipe. In 1972 IDV was purchased by Watney Mann, which in turn was acquired by Grand Metropolitan later that year.
Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form Diageo in 1997. They remain the current owners of Strathmill. Shortly after the merger, Diageo created the Flora & Fauna range of single malts to showcase some of their lesser-known distilleries. The Strathmill 12 Years Old was first launched into this series in 2001. Other releases are few and far between.
- How to pronounce Strathmill? strath-mill
- Country: Scotland
- Region: Speyside
- Founded: 1891
- Current owners: Diageo
- Production capacity per year: 2.6 million litres
- Mash tun: 9.1 ton stainless steel
- Washbacks: 6
- Stills: 4
- Visitor centre: No
Strathmill Distillery
Keith
Banffshire
AB55 5DQ
tel – +44(0)1542 883000
www.malts.com
Did you know?
The pied wagtail (motacilla alba) features on the label of the Strathmill 12 Years Old Flora & Fauna bottle. The small bird is often seen on or around the River Isla next to the distillery. It has a distinct bobbing motion that mimicks the flowing river and feeds on flies and water insects.