Pittyvaich

Pittyvaich (pronounced pitty-vake) was one of Scotland's shortest lived single malt whisky distilleries. It was only in operation for 18 years (from the early 1970s to the 1990s). The distillery was built to boost production levels of single malt for blending contracts. As a result, very little single malt was bottled from Pittyvaich. This makes it difficult to come by, bar a few limited edition releases these days.

Pittyvaich was known for a nutty, spicy and robust style of single malt that exhibited an estery top note. The spirit was predominantly matured in bourbon casks from the American whiskey industry.

Very little is known about the production at Pittyvaich, bar a few documents held within the Diageo archive. Water was drawn from the nearby Bailliemore and Convalleys Springs. The building was of a functional early 1970s-style design and housed the production equipment. This initially included a pair of stills, which were doubled to two pairs in the late 1970s.

Pittyvaich was founded in 1974 by Arthur Bell & Sons. It is located in Dufftown in the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery sat in the Dullan Glen and shared the same site as the larger Dufftown distillery. Production began in 1975 with the function of creating single malt to be used in the Bell's blend. The brand had seen rapid growth in the late 1960s and early 1970s making it the UK's best selling Scotch whisky. 

Pittyvaich was closed in 1993. This followed a decrease in demand a slump in Scotch whisky sales in the early 1990s. The equipment was finally decommissioned and distillery buildings demolished in 2002.

Now all that remains of Pittyvaich is a dark grains plant. It continues to process draff (the residue of barley husks collected from the mash tun) and pot ale (liquid remaining in the still after the first distillation) from Diageo's three Dufftown distilleries - Dufftown, Glendullan and Mortlach. Otherwise, there is no evidence of Pittyvaich other than a patch of open ground amongst the warehouses of Dufftown distillery.

All remaining distillery stocks of Pittyvaich are owned by Diageo. Arthur Bell & Sons were the owners from 1974 to 1987. They merged with Distillers Company Limited to form United Distillers in 1987. United Distillers owned Pittyvaich until 2002 when they became part of Diageo Scotland. The distillery site was used as back-up for Gordon's gin production while silent in the mid-90s.

The only regular bottling of Pittyvaich was the 12 year old in the Flora & Fauna range. A range to showcase United Distiller's (now Diageo's) lesser known single malt distilleries. It was first released in 1991 but is no longer available, apart from through auction sites. A few indie vintage bottlings appear occasionally, especially through Gordon & Macphail and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Distillery bottlings of Pittyvaich are now very rare and limited to old expressions. It has featured in the Diageo Special Releases over the years. This includes a 20 year old expression in 2009, 25 year old in 2015, 29 year old in 2019 and 30 year old in 2020. Old casks are also used in limited super premium expressions of Johnnie Walker and John Walker & Sons bottlings.