David Prior’s Bladnoch whisky Pure Scot to be stocked by Walmart

Australian entrepreneur David Prior is celebrating US giant Walmart’s move to stock his award-winning scotch.

David Prior, with Bladnoch whisky at his home in Melbourne’s Toorak. Pic: David Geraghty

A whisky distilled in the Scottish lowlands and owned by Australian entrepreneur David Prior has received a massive boost with news it will be stocked by the world’s biggest supermarket chain, Walmart.

Pure Scot, a gold medal-winning scotch whisky from Mr Prior’s Bladnoch Distillery, will appear in Walmart stores in Florida and California from June.

Pure Scot is a blended scotch whisky developed by Mr Prior in collaboration with whisky expert, and author, Charles McLean.

The whisky blend was first launched in Australia in 2015, and is now available in 24 countries.

Mr Prior bought the mothballed Bladnoch whisky distillery in 2015 after selling his five:am yoghurt brand for more than $80 million.

Bladnoch, a 200-year-old whisky distillery in the Scottish Lowlands, was saved from demolition and from plans to turn it into a property development.

One of Scotland’s oldest distilleries - it made whisky seven years before production was actually made legal in Scotland in 1824 - Bladnoch is situated on the clean waters of the River Bladnoch and is Scotland’s most southerly based distillery.

When Mr Prior picked it up — becoming the first Australian to invest in Scotland’s whisky industry — it hadn’t actually produced any whisky for several years and was in bankruptcy.

He invested millions more into the distillery, refashioned its bottle and label and launched the Pure Scot blend.

Major retail partners now stocking Pure Scot include Moscow-based luxury supermarket chain Azbuka Vkusa, Dutch liquor retailers Gall and Gall, Cologne Headquartered REWE, and, in Australia, Woolworths’ Dan Murphy’s and BWS chains.

Pure Scot launched in the USA in 2016, and has steadily grown in the market through regional retailers and independent bars and restaurants.

Pure Scot is a winner of six gold medals, including the Double Gold at the San Francisco Spirit Awards, an accolade previously won by Australian icon Sullivans Cove.

Walmart believes Pure Scot can help grow the premium blended scotch category.