Distillers & Spirit Producers

Whyte & Mackay

Whyte & Mackay Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Originally founded in 1844 in Glasgow, Scotland under the name of Allan & Poynter, they were wholesalers to the grocery trade. The business was bought by a new owner, William Scott, who brought in two men to help him: James Whyte and Charles Mackaay. At the end of the 1870’s when William Scott died the business was sold to Whyte and Mackay, who subsequently renamed it. A key product they provided was Whisky and the new owners decided to invest in a Whisky blending plant. This initially proved a good idea but by the First World War and then prohibition in the US, the business was under constant strain during the second 2 decades of the 1900’s. This was not aided by the deaths of Charles Mackay in 1919 and John Whyte in 1921.

Just when the business looked to be improving under the running of John Whyte’s 2 sons, Hartley and Alex, the Second World War broke out and it wasn’t until the late 1950’s the business really started to grow again. In 1960 they acquired Dalmore Distillery, becoming the fifth most popular Scottish brand of whisky in 1965. In 1993 they purchased Invergordon Distillery and in 2006 rebranded many of their products to use the double red lion logo used today. Whyte & Mackay was purchased by United Spirits in 2007, who in turn were purchased by Diageo in 2012.

Whyte & Mackay.

Invergordon Organic