Braeval (AKA Braes of Glenlivet)

Braes of Glenlivet was founded in 1973 by the Chivas and Glenlivet Group. Lying in the prime pastures of the Livet Glen, at the heart of Speyside, the young distillery sits in close proximity to The Glenlivet. To avoid confusion, the distillery dropped the Glenlivet... suffix in 1994 to become Braeval. During the 1970s the still capacity was increased dramatically, with a final still added, to total six in 1978.

At an altitude of 350m Braeval stands as the highest distillery in Scotland. Braeval was built on a mountain ridge, sharing its water source, the Pitilie Burn, with the highland based Aberfeldy. No official bottlings have been released, but there are two Braeval whiskies available as part of Aberko Ltd’s Deerstalker range. The distillery closed in October of 2002, following Pernod Ricard’s acquisition of Chivas Brothers the previous year.

After renovation and refurbishment the distillery was reopened in July of 2008 - a year when Chivas reopened several silent distilleries in their portfolio. A thoroughly modern distillery, despite its old-fashioned, classic aesthetics, Braeval can be operated by just one worker, though nonetheless the capacity is quite substantial at 3.8m litres per annum.

Read more