This year marks something truly special for us at Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery: 25 years since we first opened our doors to visitors. For me, it’s more than just a number. It’s about celebrating vision, passion, and the drive to create not just another whisky tour but an entirely new way of experiencing Scotch whisky.
In my first blog, we looked at all the brilliant things that have happened in the past 25 years, but let’s go back to the beginning and dig into the creation of our visitor centre.
A New Venture for a New Millennium
When Bacardi acquired Dewar’s in 1998, it wasn’t just a whisky brand that changed hands. It came with something unique – the extraordinary historical archive of John Dewar & Sons Ltd and, crucially, Aberfeldy Distillery itself.
Aberfeldy was the only distillery ever built by the Dewar family, designed by the great Charles Doig, and its location just a few miles from John Dewar’s birthplace gave the project an emotional connection from the start.
Must Read Stories
Whisky tourism was already booming by the late 1990s, with 45 distilleries open to the public, almost all focusing solely on single malts. Aberfeldy already ran official guided tours dating back to 1986, but we wanted to create something different.
I am still guided by the goal to create ‘more than a distillery tour’ by showcasing Dewar’s blends, bringing to life one of Scotland’s most iconic whisky brands in a way no one had attempted before.
Our archivist, Jacqui Seargeant, recalls those early days fondly: “The focus was authenticity and hands-on history. We wanted people to feel like they were stepping into the Dewar’s story, not just reading about it on a wall.
“I was originally hired for a 12-month contract to curate the storytelling. That was 26 years ago, and I’m still here! We make updates to the archive every year, so there’s always something new to discover – it’s endlessly exciting.”
We didn’t want to be simply the ‘46th distillery visitor centre.’ We wanted to break the mould and introduce innovation into the sector, using our remarkable archive collection to share the rich heritage of Dewar’s while staying relevant to what visitors would truly enjoy.
Turning an Old Maltings into Something New
The location was perfect. We chose to transform the upper floor of the old maltings, a building designed by Charles Doig himself. Once it had been the grain store with the malting floor below, but since the maltings closed in 1962, it had mostly been used for storage and even housed a small staff gym. In 1999, that empty space became the foundation of things to come.
Over the course of 15 months, and with a multi-million pound investment, the upper floor was completely transformed. Dewar’s World of Whisky, as the brand home was originally known, was born.
The Original Experience
When visitors first arrived in April 2000, they entered a welcoming reception and retail area before being invited into a plush auditorium. There, a three-screen film set the tone, drawing people into the world of Dewar’s. Guests were then free to explore an interactive museum unlike anything else at the time.
The storytelling was designed in themed areas so people could dig as deeply as they wished into the company’s history using a handheld audio guide. The exhibits included immersive recreations of key moments and places in Dewar’s story.
Visitors could sit at the desk of Tommy Dewar in his London office, complete with carved wooden panelling and drawers containing original documents and images from our archive. They could step into a Victorian blending room and take on a virtual blending challenge, complete with an aroma machine releasing whisky scents into the air.
In the Innovation Room, styled like a 1950s Mad Men advertising agency, they learned how Dewar’s pioneered drinks advertising, including the story behind the iconic Dewar Highlander sign on the London Embankment.
The original team still talks about the Vision Room. Back in 2000, it looked ultra-modern, with constantly rotating advertising displays and an email kiosk that let visitors send digital postcards to friends – cutting-edge for its day. There were even interactive trivia challenges, perfect for testing your whisky knowledge before heading to the bar for a dram of Dewar’s White Label (or a coffee for drivers).
In the shop, Aberfeldy 12-Year-Old and Dewar’s branded merchandise were available, and a special 25-year-old limited-edition Dewar’s bottling had been created to mark the opening. Bottle number one still sits proudly in our archive today.
From the very beginning, everything about the project was focused on quality and authenticity. Every element was Scottish-made, from the exhibits to the construction. We continue this tradition today, with locally sourced food and drinks served in the cafe and wooden coasters made at a workshop just around the corner in Aberfeldy.
Raising the Bar for Whisky Tourism
When Dewar’s World of Whisky opened, it was clear we had created something truly different. Whisky Magazine’s Gavin Smith called it “the ultimate Scotch whisky visitor experience” and praised it as “a new benchmark for Scotch whisky visitor centres.”
The Marketing Director at the time summed up our approach in Whisky Magazine: “We will treat this as a brand centre rather than a profit centre.” It was never about simply selling tickets or merchandise. It was about telling our story in a way that people would never forget.
Even now, some of those original features remain intact and loved by visitors, including Tommy Dewar’s recreated office, the Victorian blending room has been expanded so that we offer a ‘Dewar’s Whisky Blending Masterclass’, letting guests create a bottle of their own blend. Those immersive interactive elements still delight guests, even as technology and tastes have evolved.
What began as a bold vision to pioneer a new way of doing things has become the foundation of everything we do today.
As we celebrate 25 years, I’m proud that we have stayed true to that original mission: to share whisky in a way that connects people to its history, its craft, and its spirit of innovation. Our greatest assets are the senior team members with 25 years of experience welcoming both new drinkers and seasoned connoisseurs. Our founders understood that whisky is more than a drink. It’s a story, and it’s one we’re honoured to keep telling.
Today, we are one of around 70 active whisky visitor centres in Scotland, which makes standing out more challenging and more important than ever. We have explored our past and celebrated our present, and next time, let’s take a look at what could be to come!
