Drinks Intel reported on Jan. 21 that Diageo, the parent company behind brands like Johnnie Walker, announced it was shutting down the Clynelish visitor center. The whisky brand announced that Clynelish would still be distilling scotch whisky, in spite of not being open to tourists.
Clynelish dates back to 1969, and the Northern Highlands distillery is one of the “four corners” of distilleries for the blended whisky brand that is also in Diageo’s portfolio: Johnnie Walker.
“Following a recent review, we have proposed changes to our visitor center operations, which regretfully, includes a proposal to close the visitor center at Clynelish,” a spokesperson for Diageo said in a statement. “We are currently engaging with and supporting colleagues as part of this process. We can confirm that these proposals are unrelated to distillery operations, where production will continue.”
On Jan. 22, the BBC reported that Diageo did not reveal if any jobs would be cut as a result of the closure. The company spent over £185 million on visitor centers throughout Scotland, according to the British outlet. Elected officials like Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Jamie Stone, said in a statement that the news was “extremely disappointing.”
Stone went on to express concern over potential job losses, and claimed to the outlet that he was attempting to get a meeting with the company.
More Sales and Closures from Diageo
In December, Diageo sold off 65% of its majority stake in East African Breweries Ltd. The company sold those shares to Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings Limited for $2.3 billion. The news came shortly after Diageo announced it was closing a bottling plant for Crown Royal in Canada, which appears to be leading to a ban of the whisky brand.
One month earlier, Diageo shut down production at another distillery in Scotland, Roseisle Maltings. Six staff members were moved to other facilities within the brand’s portfolio. The company had roots that dated back to 1978.
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