The Skene name has been synonymous with the whisky trade for centuries, dating back to when the village of Skene was a stop on the drover’s smuggling routes from the highlands. But as our research in 2012 at the National Archives, Kew unearthed, it was also used in the brand name of a whisky at the turn of the 20th century.
Dating from 23 November 1905, the ‘Skene Dhu’ brand was patented by Alexander Ferguson & Co.
– a major player in the Scotch whisky industry, shipping famous contemporary brands all over the world – with the patent signed by Sir James Calder, another Victorian-era whisky A-lister.