A newcomer, Allt-á-Bhainne, (pronounced Ollt-err-VANE) was founded in 1975 by Chivas Brothers Ltd, then a subsidiary of Seagram and, as of 2001, of drinks giant Pernod Ricard. Built with the intent of ensuring a steady supply of whisky for Chivas’ blended products, the distillery’s unusual name derives from the Gaelic, ‘Allt a’bhainne’ meaning ‘burn of milk’. The distillery lies on the southern slopes of the rugged mountain range, Ben Rinnes and draws its water from a spring amongst the lofty peaks.
Much like its neighbour Braeval, no official bottling has been released from the distillery and it is unlikely, according to its owners, that there will ever be any; there have been, however, some independent bottlings from bottlers including Deerstalker and Duncan Taylor. Closed in 2002, due to saturation in the whisky market, the distillery was reopened in May of 2005 due to an increased demand for the blend Chivas Regal, Allt-á-Bhainne being a chief component. Today, the distillery has capacity of 4.5 million litres per annum.