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Pittyvaich 29 years Special Release

spicy
4.4
(1)€365Scotland, Speyside, Single Malt

Flavours

Whisky character

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Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

Arthur Bell & Sons built Pittyvaich in 1974, right next door to Dufftown distillery. They fitted two pairs of stills copied from their neighbour, to feed the Bell's blends. The distillery ran for 18 years, closed in 1993, and was bulldozed in 2002. What remains sits in cask. This one sat for 29 years in sherry wood, and the years show. It is dry and spicy, with black tea, tobacco leaf and a medicinal streak. Gingerbread and orange peel come late. A taste of a place that no longer exists.

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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

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About the Pittyvaich 29 years Special Release

Pittyvaich 29 years Special Release is a single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside, Scotland. The spirit rested in sherry casks for 29 years before bottling. Its distillery no longer stands, which makes any bottle of it unusual. Diageo put this one out as part of its annual Special Releases range. Long maturation and a demolished distillery rarely come together. This is old Speyside stock from a name few drinkers know. Arthur Bell & Sons built the distillery in 1974, right beside Dufftown distillery. Production started the following year. The plan was simple. Bell's blends were selling fast and needed more malt whisky. Two pairs of stills went in, copied from the ones next door. The aim was to reproduce Dufftown's spirit. Pittyvaich ran for only 18 years and closed in 1993. Bulldozers flattened the site in 2002. Sherry casks have pushed this one dark and dry. Spice and black tea arrive first, with a faint medicinal note and a touch of sea salt. The palate is drier still, with more spice and a lick of old tobacco. Gingerbread and cinnamon build as the whisky fades. Orange peel and fresh fruit brighten the long finish. Nearly three decades in wood have not flattened it. Most Pittyvaich on shelves is the 12 year old Flora & Fauna bottling. Special Releases go much older and appear once, then never again. Pittyvaich 29 years Special Release sits near the top of what survives. The strength is full at 51.4%, so nothing was softened for the shelf. Stocks cannot be replaced, because the stills were scrapped decades ago. Each bottle opened is one fewer left in the world.