Bell's is a brand of blended Scotch

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

produced by

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was originally produced by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd and is one of the best selling whiskies in the UK, only slightly behind The Famous Grouse which is the best selling Scotch whisky on the island.

History

The Bell's producer Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd was founded in 1798. In 1851, Arthur Bell (1825–1900) began to blend various single malts together to create a more consistent blended whisky. 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 ( ) 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 several listed 19th centur ...

. In 1936, the Inchgower distillery was also acquired.Ronald B. Weir, ‘Bell, Arthur (1825–1900)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
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 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 Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

for $518 million. n 1987,

combined the businesses of Arthur Bell & Sons and

Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...

forming United Distillers. In 1997, Guinness merged with

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

to create

, the current owner of Arthur Bell & Sons.

Production

Shieldhall Whisky Bottling Plant - geograph

Blair Athol is the main component of the blend.

and Inchgower still figure, but Glenkinchie and Caol Ila are also components. The Pittyvaich distillery was used in the blend between 1974 and 1993. Bell's is bottled at Diageo's Shieldhall, Glasgow plant. The product is 40% ABV in the UK, and 43% ABV in South Africa.

Distilleries

Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd owned three whisky distilleries in Scotland: * Blair Athol *

* Inchgower

Markets

The brand's top markets are the UK, Portugal, Spain, the Nordic countries, Brazil and South Africa.

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. Bell's 2016 Christmas TV advert campaign starred actor

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. Noted for his distinctive voice, he is best known for his television roles in comedy series such as ''The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ' ...

in character as "Steven Toast".

References

External links

* {{portalbar, Liquor Diageo brands Blended Scotch whisky 1825 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Perth and Kinross