The sole Scotch whisky distillery established by the Dewar family is Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery, which was first conceived of in 1896 by John Dewar's sons. The business required extra single malt whiskey to add to their blend of Dewar's, a popular and extremely profitable blended whisky brand. Tommy and John Alexander Dewar decided to construct their whiskey distillery in the center of Highland Perthshire, on the outskirts of the settlement of Aberfeldy, for a variety of reasons. The Pitilie Burn, a tiny river that flows through the distillery and empties into the River Tay, is a fantastic natural water supply that likely had a significant role in the choice. Even today, Aberfeldy whiskey is made using the Burn's gold-rich water. The distillery is easily supplied with fuel and barley by rail from the adjacent city of Perth, and the final product could be brought back to be mixed and packaged. Due to this, the whisky's marketing approach was quite effective. The line is no longer operational, although the location still has a steam engine and wagon carrying whiskey casks. The ultimate justification could have been emotional. The construction of Aberfeldy by his sons was a sort of homecoming as the modest croft where our founder, John Dewar, was born located just three miles from Aberfeldy in the little village of Dull. Charles Doig, the leading distillery architect of the time, designed Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery, whose distinctive pagoda roof still dominates the distillery's skyline. Production started in 1898 after the foundation stone was put in 1896. With its linear layout of the many whisky-making operations, Aberfeldy is a superb example of rational design.