Campbell Distillers

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Founded

1988

Company type

Blender, Distiller

Parent company

Campbell Distillers is a dormant subsidiary of Pernod Ricard and the former trading name of its spirits division in Scotland. When the French multinational drinks giant acquired Seagram Distillers in 2001, it merged it with Campbell Distillers and named the new company after newly acquired and historic Seagram property, Chivas Brothers.

In its time, Campbell Distillers’ portfolio included the Aberlour, Edradour and Glenallachie distilleries, as well as the popular Clan Campbell blended Scotch brand.

1988

Founded

History

The origins of Campbell Distillers dates back to 1933, however the company of that name was established in 1988 when its parent company, Pernod Ricard merged Campbell & Son with the wine shipping firm, J.R. Parkington. Pernod Ricard had acquired the former in 1974 as one of its first orders of business after its own creation, a merger of the two famous French pastis liqueur producers of either name.

The company’s prize asset was the Aberlour distillery in Speyside, which Pernod Ricard had successfully developed a strong following for in the French market. Its best-seller however was the Clan Campbell blend of which Aberlour malt was the heart. The brand had also been introduced to France early on before rolling it out into the domestic and other European markets, and by 1996 Campbell Distillers had sold over 1m cases of it.

The popularity of Clan Campbell necessitated an expansion of their malt distillery portfolio, and Glenallachie was promtly acquired from Invergordon Distillers in 1989. The latter had bottled it as a single malt in the early part of the decade, but its role at Campbell Distillers was primarily provision of its blends. The company did however market two single malt brands, one for Aberlour and another for Edradour, launched by ...