Oban Whisky
Oban Highland WhiskyOwner: Region/district: Diageo Western Highlands Founded: Status: Capacity: 1794 Active (vc) 670 000 litres Address: Stafford Street, Oban, Argyll PA34 5NH Tel: website: 01631 572004 (vc) www.malts.com History: 1793 – John and Hugh Stevenson found the distillery on premises previously used for brewing. 1794 – Start of operations. 1820 – Hugh Stevenson dies. 1821 – Hugh Stevenson’s son Thomas takes over. 1829 – Bad investments force Thomas Stevenson into bankruptcy. His eldest son John takes over operations at the distillery. 1830 – John buys the distillery from his father’s creditors for £1,500. 1866 – Peter Cumstie buys the distillery. 1883 – Cumstie sells Oban to James Walter Higgins who refurbishes and modernizes it. 1898 – The Oban & Aultmore-Glenlivet Co. takes over with Alexander Edwards at the helm. 1923 – The Oban Distillery Co. owned by Buchanan-Dewar takes over. 1925 – Buchanan-Dewar becomes part of Distillers Company Limited (DCL). 1930 – Administration is transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD). 1931 – Production ceases. 1937 – In production again. 1968 – Floor maltings ceases and the distillery closes for reconstruction. 1972 – Reopening of the distillery. 1979 – Oban 12 years is on sale. 1988 – United Distillers launches Classic Malts. Oban 14 year is selected to represent Western Highlands. 1989 – A visitor centre is built. 1998 – A Distillers’ Edition is launched. 2002– The oldest Oban (32 years) so far is launched in a limited edition of 6,000 bottles. 2004 – A 20 year old cask strength from 1984 (1,260 bottles) is released. 2009 – Oban 2000, a single cask in the new Manager´s Choice range is released. 2010 – A no age distillery exclusive is released.  |
