Work on the expansion of the Glenlivet distillery started yesterday as its owners aim to double production of the in-demand single malt.
Chivas Brothers said it has “forged ahead” with its investment into the Speyside distillery after it sold over 1million cases of the premium drink last year. This represented an 11% growth in sales, which the firm hailed as a “standout achievement”.
Chivas, which is owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, reported that the boost in sales made the Glenlivet the fastest growing brand in its portfolio, with the globally popular drink having been credited with being the largest contributor to the growth of the single malt category in the past five years.
The firm has said the distillery near Ballindalloch would be phased to grow output by more than 2.3million gallons a year.
Early-stage plans were approved by Cairngorms National Park Authority in December in an investment which is likely to run into tens of millions of pounds and create about a dozen jobs.
Laurent Lacassagne, chairman of Chivas Brothers, said: “Today’s first step towards an expansion at the Glenlivet distillery is an historic day for Chivas Brothers as we look to continue the brand’s phenomenal triumphs across the past five years to reinforce our position as the world’s number one single malt Scotch whisky.”
Mr Lacassagne said Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky and premium gin business of recorded an overall 3% growth in net sales last year, outperforming a small decline in global whisky sales in 2014. Its brands include Ballantine’s Finest, which sold over six million cases in the year ending in June 2015, becoming the world’s number two whisky brand.
It said Chivas Regal maintained its position while the firm’s Passport Scotch grew sales by 20% to reach a record 1.7million cases in the year to the end of June.
“Success for the Glenlivet is not in isolation – we have reported growth of +3% in net sales for the Chivas Brothers range as a whole, supported by a strong performance across our wider single malt, premium and standard blended Scotch and English gin portfolios with Aberlour, Ballantine’s, Passport and Beefeater respectively,” Mr Lacassagne said.
“The overall performance of our comprehensive portfolio of Scotch whiskies in the context of the wider category, which declined slightly last year, has been robust and we are committed to investing into manufacturing facilities geared towards innovation to help us to capitalise on the current and long-term growth prospects of the category.”
The firm opened the doors on Scotland’s newest distillery in June. Chivas invested £25million to re-open the Dalmunach Distillery at Carron on the site of the old Imperial Distillery.