Tormore changes ownership

Owned by brothers Rajibra and Sukhinder Singh, Elixir Distillers is not slowing down in its quest to become not only a major bottler, but also a whiskey producer. Construction work has begun on Islay, which is expected to culminate in the island's eleventh distillery, Portintruan. Meanwhile, news is circulating in the whiskey world that a decision has been made to sell another distillery, Tormore, previously owned by Pernod Ricard. So it looks like with the launch of Portintruan on Islay, Elixir Distillers will own not one, but two Scotch whisky plants, located in two different regions, Islay and Speyside.

Last year, as part of a cleanup of its portfolio, Elixir Distillers sold The Whisky Exchange store, which it had been running for years, along with its Whisky service.Auction and the London Cocktail Week brand. The buyer was none other than precisely Pernod Ricard. It can be assumed that the just-announced acquisition of the Tormore distillery was part of a larger deal, started last September with a deal for The Whisky Exchange.

Tormore is one of Speyside's underrated distilleries, a whisky maker with the potential to become a true jewel in the crown of dynamic producer. In the portfolio, Pernod Ricard clearly had little opportunity to shine, competing internally with such powerhouses as Glenlivet, Miltonduff and Dalmunach, not to mention such established single malt whisky producers as Aberlour, Strathisla and Longmorn. In the Elixir Distillers portfolio, it will be the big sister of Portintruan, and it will certainly get the attention of its owners to the extent it deserves. It's also hard to assume that the purchase of Tormore is Elixir Distillers' last word when it comes to expanding as a whiskey producer.

The purchase of the distillery also includes stockpiled maturing whisky. The sum of the deal between Pernod Ricard and Elixir Distillers was not disclosed. There was also no mention of the amounts the new owner plans to invest in the distillery during the initial phase of its operations under the new banner.

Tormore is one of the largest Scotch malt whisky producers in Speyside. Admittedly, it's far from the potential of giants like Glenfiddich or Glenlivet, but it's important to remember that just under 5 million liters of pure alcohol per year is more or less the combined output of Glendronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh. Thus, in the caring hands of the new owners, the potential here is enormous, as perfectly exemplified by the current market position of these three, achieved not so long ago under the guidance of Billy Walker.

Although in the "family" Elixir Distillers Tormore is guaranteed to be a veteran of the Scottish distilling industry, it is by no means an old distillery. It was launched in 1960 as the first new whisky plant in the Speyside region in the 20th century. Perhaps it is to this pioneering spirit that we owe the unusual appearance of the Tormore buildings. From the architectural side it is sometimes compared to Central European sanatoriums, some find in it features of a power plant. Whichever option you decide on, it certainly doesn't resemble any other distillery in Scotland, and by the time the new Macallan was launched, it could safely be argued that it was the distillery with the most unusual appearance in Scotland.

Tormore's task was to meet the growing 1950s. i 60. demand for blended whisky, and this may have been the reason why its products never gained their due standing among other Scottish distillates, including within the portfolio of successive owners. As mentioned above, even after the acquisition by Pernod Ricard in 2005, i.e. at the dawn of the golden age of Scotch malt whisky, Tormore had little chance of breaking into a dominant position, given the competition from other distilleries owned by the same conglomerate.

The new owners plan not only to establish Tormore's strong position as a single malt whisky brand, but also to invest heavily in the plant itself, including the ability to accommodate tourists. So there are many indications that soon, driving along the main road through the Speyside region, we will be stopping by Tormore not only to snap a few photos of the outside, but also to go inside, take a tour, participate in a tasting, or shop at the distillery store. In a word, good times are coming, not only for Tormore, but also for us.

Anyone interested in the products of this remarkable distillery is encouraged to learn more about the the current offer of the House of Whisky Online in this area.


[21.06.2022 / photo: Rajmund Matuszkiewicz]