Emperador expanding distillery in Scotland

Tycoon Andrew Tan’s liquor giant, Emperador Inc., is expanding its whisky distillery in Scotland amid the growing demand for whisky worldwide.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Emperador said its subsidiary, Whyte and Mackay —the world’s fifth-largest Scotch whisky producer— is expanding its whisky maturation complex at Invergordon Distillery, doubling its footprint from 45.4 hectares to 92 hectares.

The liquor manufacturer said the Whyte and Mackey distillery expansion will create additional space for warehouses to be built over the coming decades, eventually housing up to an additional 1.5 million casks of maturing whisky, in support of the long-term growth ambition for the single malt whisky brand.

"This expansion is part of Emperador’s continuing efforts to strengthen our production in response to growing demands for single malt whisky in various markets worldwide. We want to address the scarcity of aged liquids globally, and this will allow us to strengthen and support a core segment of our business," said Emperador president Winston Co.

Emperador said Whyte and Mackay owns four single malt whisky brands in its portfolio, namely Tamnavulin, Jura, Fettercairn, and The Dalmore.

These are on top of the blended Scotch whisky that bears the company’s name.

"Scotch Whisky is a business that requires very long-term planning and the acquisition of this site reflects the scale of our ambition, not just for the next few years but for many decades to come," said Whyte and Mackay chief executive officer Bryan Donaghey.

Emperador is a publicly listed company on both the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange. It is the global spirits conglomerate that owns the Emperador Brandy brand.

The company said its products are available in more than 100 countries across the globe. —VAL, GMA Integrated News