Aberfeldy
The home of Dewar's World of Whisky.
Macduff
Distillery & brand
A seaside distillery, Macduff is located in the fishing port of the same name, on the banks of the River Deveron, next to the Moray Firth.
Macduff distillery
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Macduff distillery has a classic, clean and functional Delme-Evans design, with the stillhouse being the most intriguing part of the engineering.
In here are five stills – two wash and three spirit – all of which have upward-tilting lyne arms that have a right angled kink in them. The spirit stills also have horizontal shell and tube condensers. The character is nutty (slightly sulphury at new make stage), with quick mashing, short fermentation and cold condensers. It is this last technique which adds weight to the spirit. It could well be that the kink in the lyne arm helps create just enough reflux to contribute a balancing fruitiness.
Macduff History
A modern distillery, Macduff (whose whisky is bottled by its owner as either Glen Deveron or The Deveron; Macduff is only used by independent bottlers) was built in 1960 to tap into the post-war whisky boom. The group of Glasgow brokers who were the original owners included Brodie Hepburn [see Tullibardine, Deanston] and it was through them, one imagines, that William Delme-Evans was chosen as architect. Brokers Block, Grey & Block were in charge between 1966 and 1972 when it became part of William Lawson, the whisky arm of Martini & Rossi.
The distillery had been slowly expanding in terms of production throughout its life and its Italian owner upped the number of stills to five in 1990. By then a range of single malts had been released, all under the name Glen Deveron.
In keeping with the Italian market’s love of young fresh malts, a five- and eight-year-old were early members of the range. Two years later, Martini merged with Bacardi and in 1995 Macduff became part of the Dewar’s stable.
In recent years, the William Lawson blend has become a huge seller in Russia, but that hasn’t stopped Dewar’s plans to relaunch the single malt as Deveron.
Timeline
- 1960 Glasgow brokers Brodie Hepburn, Marty Dyke and George Crawford found Macduff
- 1963 Production officially begins at Macduff
- 1965 Macduff's stills are increased from two to three; two years later a fourth still is installed
- 1972 William Lawson, the whisky arm of Martini & Rossi, buys the distillery
- 1990 Macduff's fifth still is installed
- 1993 Bacardi purchases Martini, and Macduff becomes part of the Dewar's portfolio
- 2013 The Macduff Royal Burgh Collection is launched in duty free
Macduff Facts
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- Capacity (mlpa) i
- 4
-
- Condenser Type i
- Shell and tube
-
- Fermentation Time i
- 68hrs
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- Grist Weight (t) i
- 12.5
-
- Heat Source i
- HFO boiler providing heat to stainless elements
-
- Malt Specification i
- Plain malt, 0ppm
-
- Malt Supplier i
- Bairds
-
- Mash Tun Type i
- Lauter
-
- New-make Strength i
- 70%
-
- Spirit Still Charge (l) i
- 23,000
-
- Spirit Still Shape i
- Tall with rising lye pipe
-
- Stills i
- 4
-
- Warehousing i
- Westhorn/Poniel
-
- Wash Still Charge (l) i
- 20,000
-
- Wash Still Shape i
- Tall with rising lye pipe
-
- Washback Size (l) i
- 60,000
-
- Washback Type i
- 6 wood, 2 stainless steel
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- Washbacks i
- 8
-
- Water Source i
- Natural spring and field drain - process. Burn and field drain - cooling
-
- Wort Clarity i
- Clear
-
- Yeast Type i
- Kerry MS1
Owners
Parent company
- Bacardi 1993 - present
Current owner
Previous owners
- General Beverage Corporation 1980 - 1993
- William Lawson Distillers 1972 - 1980
- Brodie Hepburn, Marty Dyke and George Crawford 1960 - 1972
Contact
- Address
-
Macduff Distillery
Banff
Aberdeenshire
AB45 3JT
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 1261 812612
- Visitor Opening Hours
- Not open to the public
Map
See also
-
Distillery & brand
-
Distillery & brand
Craigellachie
Late 19th century distillery designed by Charles Doig, now owned by John Dewar & Sons.
-
Distillery & brand
Royal Brackla
A producer of malt for blending, Royal Brackla became the first Scotch to obtain a Royal Warrant.