Pattisons Limited was a Scotch whisky blender and bottler from 1896 until its bankruptcy in 1901. It is known for its role in the booming scotch whisky market of the late 19th century, and its instrumental role in the market's subsequent collapse.
Pattisons Ltd. started out as a dairy wholesaler in Edinburgh. Seeing an opportunity for much greater profits, they entered the whisky business by forming a blending company in 1887, going public two years later. Around this time, the great phylloxera epidemic devastated the vineyards of France, significantly depleting the region's brandy reserves. This lull in production allowed whisky producers to bring about huge market growth. It was in this boom environment that Pattisons took shape.
Walter G.G. Pattison and Robert P. Pattison expanded from the blending business into distilling and incorporated in 1896 as Pattisons Ltd. The company grew very rapidly, purchasing a half share in the Glenfarclas distillery, shares in the Aultmore distillery and the Oban distillery and the Ardgowan grain whisky distillery. They also acquired the Duddingston Brewery in Craigmillar. [1]
The brothers were known for their extravagant spending in both their personal and professional lives. They employed a sales force of 150 men, many more than their much larger competitor Distillers Company Ltd. Their advertising budget alone totalled over £60,000 in 1898 (£ 8.44 million in 2023 [2] ). In addition to their huge print advertising campaigns, they gave away 500 grey parrots to vendors that were trained to repeat phrases like "Pattisons Whisky is best!" or "Buy Pattisons Whisky!" [3]
In 1899 the company began falling apart. DCL froze their account after an unpaid balance of £30,000. It was revealed that the company had massively inflated their profits through shoddy accounting practices and defaulted on several substantial debts. Among their many offences was mixing cheap whisky with a small quantity of fine Scotch and labeling it "Fine old Glenlivet" to bolster their bottom line by nearly £27,000. The brothers were tried for four counts of fraud and embezzlement in 1901. After just an hour and a half the Pattisons were found guilty. Robert Pattison was jailed for 18 months and Walter nine. [4]
Scotch whisky, often simply called whisky or Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland.
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.
Royal Brackla distillery is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery on the Cawdor Estate, near Nairn in Scotland.
The Macallan distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Craigellachie in Moray in the north-east of Scotland. The Macallan Distillers Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Edrington, which purchased the brand from Highland Distillers in 1999.
Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky.
Grant's is a blended Scotch whisky, produced by the company William Grant & Sons in Scotland.
McClelland's Single Malt is a range of single malt Scotch whiskies from four of Scotland's key whisky distilling regions—Highland, Islay, Speyside and Lowland.
Vat 69 is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was created by William Sanderson & Son Limited of South Queensferry, Scotland.
Oban distillery is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the Scottish west coast port of Oban. Established in 1794, it was built before the town of the same name, which sprang up later in the surrounding craggy harbour.
Japanese whisky is a style of whisky developed and produced in Japan. Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1923 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, the style of Japanese whisky is more similar to that of Scotch whisky than other major styles of whisky.
Glenfarclas distillery is a Speyside whisky distillery in Ballindalloch, Scotland. Glenfarclas translates as meaning valley of the green grass. The distillery is owned and run by the Grant family. The distillery has six stills which are the largest on Speyside and are heated directly by gas burners.
Aberfeldy distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Scotland.
As of 2006 most distilled spirits labelled as "whisky" in India were a form of Indian-made foreign liquor, commonly blends based on neutral spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky, usually about 10 to 12 percent. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled a rum. According to the Scotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in the European Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky." Such molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004, although whisky wholly distilled from malt and other grains, was also manufactured and sold. By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers. Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004. After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
Lochside distillery was a Highland single malt Scotch whisky and grain whisky distillery in Montrose, Angus.
Glencadam distillery is a distillery in Brechin, Angus, Scotland that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by Angus Dundee plc and produces one malt whisky, with the remainder of production sold to blenders or used within Angus Dundee plc for use in blended whisky brands.
Teacher's Highland Cream is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced in Glasgow, Scotland by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.
Haig is a brand of Scotch whisky, produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was originally manufactured by John Haig & Co Ltd. since the early 1720s.
Chivas Brothers is a Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky. It is owned by Pernod Ricard since 2001.
Clynelish distillery is a distillery near Brora, Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland.
Bell's is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was originally produced by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd and is one of the best selling whiskies in the UK, only slightly behind The Famous Grouse which is the best selling Scotch whisky on the island.