Whisky Long John

Long John takes its name from ‘Long John’ Macdonald, who established Ben Nevis distillery at Fort William in 1825, a time when many new distillery ventures were being implemented as a result of the liberating Excise Act of 1823. Macdonald stood six feet four inches tall, hence his nickname, and his whisky was marketed as ‘Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis.’

It soon gained a reputation for high quality, and a cask was presented to Queen Victoria when she visited the distillery in 1848. According to an article published in the Illustrated London News during April of that year, “The cask is not to be opened until His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales attains his majority,” which was not to occur for another 15 years.

In 1911 the Macdonald family sold the Long John brand name to London wine and spirits merchants W H Chaplin & Co Ltd, though Long John had been a blended Scotch whisky since two years previously. The brand subsequently passed to the old-established gin distilling firm of Seager Evans & Co Ltd when they bought out Chaplin’s in 1936.

Long John was part of the portfolio of whiskies acquired by Pernod Ricard from Allied Domecq in 2005, and, according to brand director Geoff Parmiter: “Long John is now a major player in the ‘value’ whisky segment in France, where it sells alongside the likes of Label 5 and does very well for us. The 1970s was really its high point in terms of sales in the UK, I think.

“Strathclyde grain continues to be a major contributor, while Tormore malt whisky is still at the heart of the blend, too.