Bell's is a brand of blended Scotch

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

produced by Diageo in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was originally produced by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd. It is the best selling whisky in the UK.

History

The Bells distillery was founded in 1798. In 1851, Arthur Bell (1825–1900) began to blend various single malts together to create a more consistent

blended whisky A blended whiskey (or blended whisky) is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and sometimes also neutral grain spirits, colorings, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher-quality straight or single ...

. Arthur Bell was the first known whisky manufacturer to appoint a London agent, by at least 1863. Bell's two sons joined the business in partnership in 1895. Arthur Kinmond (1868–1942) was appointed to manage the domestic market and Robert was appointed as head of the brand overseas. By the 1880s the company was focused on blended whisky. Arthur Bell died in 1900. In 1921 the partnership became a private company run by Arthur Kinmond after Robert retired to live as a country gentleman. The end of Prohibition in America created a surge in demand, which led Arthur Bell & Sons to acquire two distilleries in 1933: Blair Athol and

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has severa ...

. In 1936 the

Inchgower distillery Inchgower distillery is a whisky distillery producing a single malt of the same name located on the outskirts of Buckie, Moray, Scotland.accessed 8 Jan 2014
/ref> The Bell brothers died in 1942 and the company accountant, William Govan Farquharson, became chairman of the company. He focused on advertising the brand more heavily. Bell's became a public company in 1949. In 1954, Arthur Bell exported to 130 different countries. By 1970, Bell's was the highest selling whisky in Scotland. In the early 1970s, Bell's could not afford the advertising budget of the larger whisky distillers. Instead, it focused on the use of mixers with its product. This increased the product's popularity with women, and Bell's revenues rose by 800% between 1970 and 1979. In 1978 Bell's became the UK's highest selling whisky. Much of the credit for this expansion is given to the then managing director Raymond Miquel. By 1980 the company had around 35 percent market share in the UK. Arthur Bell & Sons acquired Gleneagles Hotels in 1984. In 1985 the company was acquired by Guinness for $518 million, and subsequently absorbed into Diageo.

Production

Shieldhall Whisky Bottling Plant - geograph

Blair Athol is the main component of the blend.

and Inchgower still figure, but Glenkinchie and

Caol Ila Caol (Gaelic: ''An Caol'') is a village near Fort William, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is about north of Fort William town centre, on the shore of Loch Linnhe, and within the parish of Kilmallie. The name "Caol" is from the G ...

are also components. The

Pittyvaich distillery Pittyvaich distillery was a producer of single malt Scotch whisky that operated between 1974 and 1993. History The Pittyvaich distillery, built in 1974 by Arthur Bell & Sons, was among the youngest Scottish distilleries while it was operating. ...

was used in the blend between 1974 and 1993. Bell's is bottled at Diageo's

Shieldhall Shieldhall is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and is part of the wider Govan area. Location and history Taking its name from the country estate which occupied the territory until the ...

, Glasgow plant. The product is 40%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

in the UK, and 43% ABV in South Africa.

Markets

The brand's top markets are the UK,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the Nordic countries, Spain and Brazil.

Advertising

A religious man, modesty prevented Arthur Bell from using his name on his whisky. The Arthur Bell name was not attached to the product until 1904. A yellow floribunda rose was named after Arthur Bell in the early 1960s. Bell's has used the "Afore ye go" slogan since 1925.

References

External links

* {{Diageo plc Scottish brands 1825 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Perth and Kinross Blended Scotch whisky