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Ye Whisky of Ye Monks Profile
Blended Scotch Whisky
‘Ye Whisky of Ye Monks – a curious old whisky’ declares the label of one of the more eccentric blends in Diageo’s whisky stable. It was created by the Edinburgh whisky firm of Donald Fisher Ltd, some 400 years after the first written record of whisky being distilled in Scotland. Appropriately enough that was Friar John Cor from Fife who was given permission by the King in the Exchequer Roll of 1494 to make ‘acquavitae’ or the ‘water of life’ from ‘eight bolls of malt’. Whether this was the inspiration for Fisher’s blend is unclear, but it is still available in Latin America and the Far East with global sales of around 50,000 cases as of 2012. Stoneware jars of the whisky with a wax seal have become popular among collectors.
Ye Whisky of Ye Monks History
Little is known about Donald Fisher Ltd, which was founded in Edinburgh in 1836. After decades of trial and error, it created its flagship blend Ye Whisky of Ye Monks in 1893, which contained some 40 different whiskies. Over the years, there have been a number of different aged expressions and bottles of various shapes and sizes, most famous of which are the 75cl stoneware jugs of Ye Monks, which were first released after WWII and were popular through the 1960s and ‘70s. Some of these were released as 12-year-olds.
The company of Donald Fisher Ltd was purchased by the DCL in 1936, and its successor, Diageo, continues to produce Ye Monks for export.
Timeline
- 1836 Donald Fisher Ltd is founded in Edinburgh
- 1893 The Ye Monks blend is launched
- 1936 Donald Fisher Ltd. is bought by the DCL
- 1982 The firm receives the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement
Owners
Parent company
- Diageo 1997 - present
Current owner
- Donald Fisher Ltd 1893 - present
Previous owners
- Distillers Company Limited 1936 - 1986
- United Distillers 1986 - 1997
See also
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Distillery & brand