Tamnavulin’s story
A few years ago, Tamnavulin was a little known distillery. It is located in the centre of the Speyside region, close to the small town of Ballindalloch. Until recently, the majority of this relatively modern distillery’s four million litre capacity went towards a multitude of blended whiskies. Now owners Whyte & Mackay have created a great value core range of single malts that has brought Tamnavulin whisky to a much wider audience. The attractive price point makes it a popular choice in supermarkets globally, especially in the UK and Europe.
The distillery was mothballed in 1995. Mothballing is the process by which a distillery is closed down but all the equipment remains intact so that production can restart at any time. However it would not be reopened until 2007, bar a short six week period of distillation in 2000. Since restarting, the distillery has gone from strength to strength and is now producing more spirit than ever.
Tamnavulin’s history
Tamnavulin was founded in 1966 by the Tamnavulin-Glenlivet Distillery Company, which was a newly created arm of Invergordon Distillers Limited. They responded to a boom in the Scotch whisky industry during the late-1950s and early-1960s and needed a modern and efficient distillery to help meet the demand. They selected a spot in the beautiful Glen Livet for the site, close to other distilleries at Braeval, Glenlivet and Tomintoul, on the banks of the famous River Livet.
Despite this, the distillery does not gather its water from the river but from the underground Easterton Spring in the surrounding hills. Tamnavulin was later taken over by Whyte & Mackay in 1993 and they used the whisky from there in their popular range of blends. The distillery was closed in 1995 and was only reopened in 2007, when Whyte & Mackay were taken over by United Spirits. Their chairman at the time, Vijay Mallya, decided to restart the distillery and this was easy as the equipment had remained in place. Initial production was just one million litres during 2007 but this was stepped up to the four million litre capacity in 2008. This quantity has remained ever since as the brand grows as a single malt.
- How to pronounce Tamnavulin? tam-na-voo-lin
- Country: Scotland
- Region: Speyside
- Founded: 1966
- Current owners: Whyte & Mackay
- Production capacity per year: 4.2 million litres
- Mash tun: 11 ton
- Washbacks: 9
- Stills: 6
- Visitor centre: Yes
Tamnavulin Distillery
Tomnavoulin
Ballindaloch
Banffshire
AB37 9JA
tel – +44(0)1807 590 285
tamnavulinwhisky.com
Did you know?
Tamnavulin means ‘mill on the hill’ in Gaelic. The mill was once used by local shepherds to produce their wool but has now been converted into the distillery’s visitor centre.
Tamnavulin
