Bacardi attributes the investment to a “growing demand” for Dewar’s in the US, Asian and other emerging markets.
Séamus McBride, president and chief executive of Bacardi, said: “We are excited to have completed the first phase of a new infrastructure project to support higher inventories of maturing whisky and increase our blending, bottling and packing capabilities.”
The Dewar’s expansion project, which started in 2007 and will be completed over a period of ten years, has already seen the redevelopment of the brand’s Glasgow site, the building of maturation warehouses and blend centres, and the upgrading of bottling lines and packing equipment.
Alongside the growth of the brand’s operations - which has also included the purchase of a 100-acre site in central Scotland - Bacardi has set out what it terms “a commitment to environmental sustainability.”
According to the spirits company, around 100,000 indigenous trees have been planted around the new Dewar’s site, a measure it says will “naturally enhance its maturation facility” and “compliment the surrounding landscape”.
Iain Lochhead, operations director of John Dewar’s & Sons said: “We believe the quality of Dewar’s fine whiskies are directly linked to the quality of Scotland’s natural elements.
“From Scotland’s clean air, pristine water and fine grain comes this great product. We take the original meaning of whisky — “water of life” — to heart, from the natural ingredients in the environment to the final product.”
