Allt-A-Bhainne 1981-1994 - 12 Year Old - Signatory Vintage - Single Cask 12045 - Miniature

Allt-A-Bhainne is a large modern Speyside workhorse distillery built in 1975 by Chivas Brothers during that company’s ownership by Seagram. The distillery’s spirit is a key part of the 100 Pipers blended whisky, among others. Pernod Ricard acquired Chivas Brothers in 2001 when Seagram’s business was broken up; Allt-A-Bhainne was mothballed the following year but reopened in 2005 and has been in production ever since. Today around a third of production is given over to peated spirit.

Allt-A-Bhainne has always been used to supply filling malt for blended whiskies and the first official bottling only appeared in 2018. Independent bottlings of Allt-A-Bhainne are relatively abundant, with the SMWS, Signatory Vintage and Gordon & MacPhail frequently releasing excellent bottlings.

Signatory Vintage Whisky Company was founded by Andrew Symington in 1988 after a spell as assistant manager at the Prestonfield House Hotel, where he had the opportunity to buy a cask of Glenlivet 1968. A robust and canny businessman, Symington had soon acquired some outstanding parcels of casks from great distilleries, and quickly established a reputation among single malt fans for good value, high quality single casks, the majority of which were released at full strength.

Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Signatory released outstanding whisky from Ardbeg, Glenfarclas, Springbank and many more, with frequently remarkable examples of lost or obscure distilleries. Soon established as one of the leading new wave independent bottlers, Symington was also an early exponent of bottling whiskies without colouring or chill filtration, a policy that has also served Signatory well at their Edradour distillery, which was purchased in 2002.