Chivas Brothers Planning New Speyside Distillery

From Shanken:

 

Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers has announced plans to build a new malt whisky distillery in Scotland’s Speyside region to buttress supply for its blended Scotch brands—which include Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Clan Campbell, Passport, Something Special and 100 Pipers—in the coming years. The proposed facility would be located on the banks of the River Spey near Carron, at the site of the silent Imperial Distillery, which has been out of use since 1998 and was acquired by Chivas Brothers as part of Pernod Ricard’s joint purchase (with Beam) of Allied Domecq in 2005. In a statement today, Chivas said, “The intention is to make the external façade blend in with the surrounding riverside scene and follow vernacular codes of the region.”

The proposed move, which is only in the planning stages, is part of Chivas’s recently announced initiative to commit $60 million annually to expanded whisky production over the next several years. Other current projects include the re-opening of the Glen Keith distillery and the expansion of four existing Speyside distilleries: Glenallachie, Glentauchers, Tormore and Longmorn. Those investments will help boost Chivas’s malt whisky distillation capacity by 25% by April of next year, the company says.

Pernod, like Diageo—which has earmarked $1.54 billion for Scotch whisky investments of its own over the next five years—is building to meet future demand, as relatively young Scotch markets like Brazil, Russia, China and India continue to develop at a rapid pace. Chivas Regal now sells more than 2 million cases across Asia, Chivas Bros. international marketing director Eric Benoist tells Shanken News Daily, and is also on the rise in emerging areas like Russia, India and Turkey. Overall Chivas Regal rose 7% to nearly 5 million cases globally in the 12 months through June.

Meanwhile, Ballantine’s rose 4.7% to 6.5 million cases last year. Benoist says the brand has been able to offset tough conditions in mature markets like Spain by “winning over new consumers in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Poland.” Gains in Brazil, Mexico and Russia were also crucial to the Passport brand’s progress last year, as it leapt 19% to 1.1 million cases globally. Something Special, a key brand in South America’s expanding Scotch sector, saw 15% net sales growth in the year through June, Benoist added.