Chivas Brothers, the scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, has announced a £88 million (€104.5 million) investment in two of its distilleries – Aberlour and Miltonduff.
The investment will see the company upgrade its sustainable distillation technologies at the distilleries along with expansion in production capacity to meet global demand for scotch.
Chivas Brothers Sustainability Improvements
The expansions of the distilleries will allow Chivas Brothers’ to increase production by 14 million litres annually.
The investment reinforces Chivas Brothers’ commitment to Scotland and reflects the growing global demand for Scotch whisky which has seen exports increase across all regions.
Chivas Brothers recorded an increase of 23% in net sales in the first half of its financial year.
Jean-Etienne Gourgues, chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers said, "Scotch has demonstrated its resilience as a category over the past few challenging years and in the process has opened new avenues for growth.
"This expansion will allow us to increase our volume to capitalise on the increased demand and interest in Scotch, but also supports our drive to reduce emissions in line with our sustainability ambitions. We’re once again betting big on the future of Scotch so we can bring in new consumers to the category and continue to shape a sustainable future of whisky."
Net-Zero Distillation
The expansion will also serve to accelerate Chivas Brothers’ goal of reaching net zero distillation by 2026 with the installation of new bio plants and high-efficiency Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) fan technology for pot still distillation across both sites.
This mechanism enables a major energy recovery by compressing the vapour and sending it back to heat the wines during the distillation process.
Last year, the company announced plans to roll out MVR technology across all viable sites in its distillery portfolio by 2026 following a pilot study at its Glentauchers distillery, which resulted in energy reductions of 90% on a single pot still there.
Aberlour And Miltonduff Distilleries
The Aberlour distillery, which has been producing whisky since 1879, will see its production capacity double to 7.8 million litres of alcohol per annum.
The distillery will also undergo a significant facelift with an upgraded visitor centre, which the group hopes will draw more whisky fans to the area and boost local tourism.
A new still house will be equipped with large windows providing visitors with views into the nearby woods and the River Spey, the water source for the spirit, the company added.
Miltonduff’s expansion will see the construction of a brand new sustainable distillery, next to the existing facility.
The distillery, which will include a bio plant and evaporator, will add 10 million litres of alcohol per annum to the total production capacity.
Both sites are expected to be operating at full capacity by mid-2025, the spirits giant said.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest drinks news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
