Allt-A-Bhainne - That Boutique-y Whisky Company - Batch 1

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 and 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.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottling subsidiary of Atom Group, the company that owns Master of Malt and Maverick Drinks. That Boutique-y Whisky Co.’s first bottlings appeared in 2012 and are easily recognisable by their small bottles and garish cartoon labels depicting oblique references to each distillery’s history and characteristics. The company does not reveal the whisky’s vintage on their labels, and only began using age statements in 2016.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company are prolific bottlers, with over 800 releases in their first decade. The company are also distinguished by the innovation of their offering, particularly in regard to world whiskies, and are often the first UK bottlers to release whiskies from new world distilleries. That Boutique-y Whisky Co.'s parent company Atom Group was purchased by Budweiser brewers AB-InBev in 2018.