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Pittyvaich 25 years

fresh woody
3.4
(1)€467Scotland, Speyside, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

Pittyvaich only ran for about twenty years. It was built in 1974 on the grounds of the Dufftown distillery. Production stopped in 1993, and the buildings came down about ten years later. This whisky sat in bourbon casks for 25 years. That is longer than the distillery itself ever operated. Cereal and chocolate lead on the nose. The palate opens brighter, with lemon, mint and a run of caramel and vanilla. Diageo picked it for the 2015 Special Releases. Stock from a demolished Speyside distillery does not get replaced.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Pittyvaich

Arthur Bell & Sons built Pittyvaich in 1974, tucked beside their existing Dufftown distillery in Speyside, Scotland. The new plant drew water from the Bailliemore and Convalleys springs and was designed purely to supply malt whisky for blending. It ran quietly for nearly two decades without much public attention. Pittyvaich's own character stayed simple and unshowy, a soft, easy-drinking Speyside malt rather than a bold sherried dram. An official single malt bottling followed in 1991, giving drinkers a rare direct look at what the distillery could do. That look proved brief. Pittyvaich closed in 1993, becoming one of Speyside's shortest-lived distilleries, and the buildings were demolished in 2002. Because so little was ever bottled, surviving expressions from independent bottlers like Signatory Vintage and Cadenhead's are now genuinely hard to find.

4.1Average rating

7Whiskies on Distilld

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Speyside

Most popular whiskies from Pittyvaich

About the Pittyvaich 25 years

Pittyvaich 25 years is a single malt Scotch whisky from Pittyvaich, a Speyside distillery near Dufftown. Diageo bottled it for the 2015 Special Releases at 49.9%, drawn from first-fill and refill bourbon casks. The spirit was distilled in 1989 and left alone for a quarter of a century. Colouring is used. What arrives in the glass is a heavy, nutty style of Speyside malt rather than a light one. The distillery went up in 1974 on the grounds of Dufftown distillery in Speyside. It closed in 1993, after less than two decades of work. Around ten years later the buildings were pulled down. So this bottling spent longer in wood than the site spent making spirit. That gap is the whole story here. Every cask of Pittyvaich left is finite, and nobody can lay down any more. The nose is dense and cereal-led, with dark chocolate sitting underneath. Give it a minute and fresh fruit pushes through. On the palate there is lemon and lime, then a green, vegetative edge and a cool touch of mint. Vanilla, caramel and butterscotch build in the middle. Dried fruit and an earthy note follow. The finish returns to cereal and chocolate, long, dry and slightly floral. Official Pittyvaich bottlings are rare. Only a handful appeared during the distillery's working life and in the years since. Most drinkers have never seen the name. Pittyvaich 25 years is one of the few, filled in 1989 and held back for a quarter of a century. The 2015 Special Releases gave it a wider audience than it ever had before. Once these bottles go, there is no next batch waiting.