To meet Growing Demand for Scotch Whiskies
Chivas Brothers, the Scotch Whisky business of the global wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard, announced on Aug. 31 that it will invest approximately 140 billion won (88 million pounds) in expanding production capacity and upgrading sustainable distillation technologies.
Chivas Brothers is the world's leading producer of Scotch whiskies, such as Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal. The company plans to make extensive investments in Aberlour and Miltonduff, two of its single malt distilleries in Scotland, in an attempt to meet the global demand for Scotch whisky and to reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions.
This investment will double the production capacity of Aberlour distillery and rebrand the Miltonduff distillery as a state-of-the-art sustainable distillery equipped with new bio plants, primarily responsible for producing blended whiskies such as Ballantine’s. Once the expansion of the two distilleries is completed in 2025, the total production of Chivas Brothers’ Scotch whiskies will grow by 14 million liters of alcohol per year.
What’s more, this investment will also allow the two distilleries to be equipped with high-efficiency Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) fan technology. This is a technology that recovers energy through the compression of vapor for reuse in the heating of spirits in the distillation process. The company’s pilot at its Glentauchers distillery last year confirmed this to yield an approximate 90% in energy savings. Chivas Brothers is planning to roll out the MVR technology across all its distilleries by 2026 to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to carbon neutrality.
Frantz Hotton, CEO of Pernod Ricard Korea noted, “Recently the nationwide demand for Scotch whisky in Korea and the interest in products produced in an eco-friendly manner are clearly pointing upward. Pernod Ricard Group stands behind its principle of producing sustainable products while meeting the needs of its consumers, which is precisely why the group implements its Sustainability & Responsibility policy across all businesses. Pernod Ricard Korea will continue to introduce products that are produced sustainably to the Korean market down the road.”
Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard Korea, the Korean unit of Pernod Ricard Group distributes blended Scotch whiskies, such as Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, 100 Pipers, and Clan Campbell, as well as single malt whiskies, such as Aberlour, The Glenlivet, and Ballantine’s single malt whiskies, in Korea, which are all produced by Chivas Brothers.