[3][4] The majority of this – enough for 6 million bottles – is sold as The Glenlivet single malt, with the remainder being used in Pernod Ricard's blended whisky brands.

[2] Illicit distilleries were commonplace throughout the Speyside area from 1700s but were largely made redundant with the passing of the Excise Act in 1823.

Although there is no historical record of his involvement in the issue, his tenant, George Smith, who was operating an illicit distillery on his Upper Drummin farm at the time, became the first person in Scotland to apply for and receive a license to legally produce spirit.

[1][10] The operation of two separate sites was also proving difficult and expensive, so plans were formed around the same time to build a new, larger distillery further down the hill at Minmore.

[1] In the aftermath of World War Two, Britain was heavily indebted and needed to export large quantities of goods to earn foreign revenue (mainly United States dollars).

Distilling restrictions were rapidly lifted and output from the distillery was at pre-war levels by 1947, despite ongoing barley, fuel, and manpower limitations.

The company would go on to merge with Hill Thomson & Co., Ltd. and Longmorn-Glenlivet Distilleries, Ltd. in 1970 before changing their name to Glenlivet Distillers Ltd in 1972.

[3] While Glen Grant Distillery was sold to Campari Group in 2005 Pernod Ricard kept control over the Glenlivet and Aberlour single malt whisky brands.

The Glenlivet is the world's second best selling single malt whisky, and current global sales total 6 million bottles per annum.

Glenlivet's stills are lantern shaped with long, narrow necks, all of which help to produce a light-tasting spirit.

Other products Glenlivet's offerings have frequently been reviewed at spirit ratings competitions, generally garnering relatively high praise.

The Glenlivet 18yr is perhaps the most highly decorated of the offerings, winning five double golds from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition between 2005 and 2012 and yielding only slightly less impressive scores from the Beverage Testing Institute and Wine Enthusiast.

[25] The 18yr Nadurra earned a double gold medal at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a score of 94 (out of 100) in the same year from the Beverage Testing Institute.