Chivas Brothers to ‘Start From Scratch’ With Opening of Brand New Islay Scotch Whisky Distillery
Chivas Brothers is building a new scotch distillery in Islay from the ground up. (Photo: Chivas Brothers)
Chivas Brothers, the scotch whisky company behind brands like Ballantine’s and The Glenlivet, announced on Tuesday that it is planning to open a carbon-neutral distillery on Islay. This venture marks the Pernod Ricard-owned company’s first foray into the world of Islay Scotch whisky.
“This is an important new chapter in the Chivas Brothers story. The introduction of an Islay whisky completes our comprehensive and award-winning Scotch portfolio,” Chivas Brothers Chairman and CEO Jean-Etienne Gourgues said in a news release. “As a business built on hundreds of years of heritage, it also gives us the opportunity to do something we rarely do, which is to start from scratch.”
The company purchased a property West of Bowmore on the shores of Loch Indaal.
Pernod Ricard and Chivas allocated the equivalent of $76 million to build the carbon-neutral distillery, and Chivas Brothers pledged to achieve carbon-neutral distillation at the end of 2026 in September.
Chivas Brothers is no stranger to touting its support of sustainable initiatives, and the brand notably made its carbon-neutral tactics open-source so other distilleries could take a similar approach and cut emissions, according to Dram Scotland.
The scotch brand planned on diverting investment money to build heat recovery technology and install electric boilers at qualifying distilleries. The company decided to implement the initiatives in order to protect the future of scotch whisky from the difficulties that resulted from climate change.
More information about the distillery will be revealed in time, but Gourgues expressed enthusiasm for the brand’s new venture.
“Here on Islay, we can create a blueprint for carbon-neutral distilling and continue to usher in this era of sustainable Scotch,” Gourgues continued. “We are committed to Scotch to the Islay community and the landscape that makes it the perfect place to continue our vision to shape the future of whisky.”
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