Allied Domecq

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Founded

1994

Company type

Blender, Distiller

Parent company

Allied Domecq was a multinational company established in 1994 through the merger of Allied Lyons with Pedro Domecq. In the decade that it traded it was the second-biggest spirits company in the world, although still far from the size of Diageo. It was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005.

Among the company’s key whisky brands were the Ballantine’s and Teacher’s blends, Laphroaig, Glendronach and Scapa single malts, Maker’s Mark in the US and Canadian Club.

1994

Founded

History

Allied Domecq was the result of a merger between Allied Lyons and Pedro Domecq in 1994, part of the business strategy of the former that had seen it gradually divesting from the brewery companies it had been built upon to focus on the production of spirits.

The new company had an impressive portfolio of brands that included Courvoisier cognac, the Kahlua and Tia Maria liqueurs, Mumm and Perrier-Jouet champagne and Stolichnaya vodka. Its Scotch whisky division, organised under the Allied Distillers subsidiary, was headlined by the globally renowned Ballantine’s and Teacher’s blended Scotch brands. These were provisioned from its substantial malt distillery portfolio, which included Laphroaig, Miltonduff, Glenburgie, Scapa, Glendronach and Tormore, as well as Ardbeg, Balblair, Glencadam and Pulteney, all of which it dispensed with over the years. The long-running and historic Laphroaig single malt brand was marketed alongside Glendronach, Miltonduff and Scapa within the Caledonian Malts collection, previously introduced by Allied Distillers in 1991 as a response to the Classic Malts of Scotland collection from United Distillers.

Allied Domecq was also represented in the USA and Canada through the Maker’s Mark distillery and brand, Walker distillery and the Canadian Club label. Canadian Club and Maker’s Mark were both Hiram Walker properties, added to the Allied Lyons portfolio when it acquired the Canadian company in 1987. Canadian Club was managed by the Corby Distilleries subsidiary, while Maker’s Mark was operated by Allied Domecq Spirits, USA.

These North American assets were eventually key to the takeover of Allied Domecq by Pernod Ricard. Knowing that anti-trust ruling would block the merger without significant divestment, the acquisition was backed by Fortune Brands in Deerfield, Illinois. The result was the American company acquiring Canadian Club, Maker’s Mark and Laphroaig, among other spirits, and the deal was completed in 2005. Today Allied Domecq remains a subsidiary company of Pernod Ricard, however the operations of its spirits divisions are assigned elsewhere.