Long John whisky is named after ‘Long John’ Macdonald, as the story goes the notorious bootlegger founded Ben Nevis distillery in 1825. Before the end of the 19th century Ben Nevis was producing Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis, one of the first brands of single malt.
The distillery changed hands many times and operated sporadically. Around 1911 the Long John brand name was acquired by London wine and spirit merchant W.H. Chaplin & Co., which itself was acquired by Seager Evans in 1936. British Brewer Whitbread then bought Seager Evans & Co. in 1975, and Ben Nevis distillery was to join Whitbread in 1981. Following this, Seager Evans was renamed Long John International Ltd in 1988, after its most established brand. It has now been owned by Pernod Ricard since 2005, and the blend claims to contain 48 different malts.