Dallas Dhu distillery was a producer of single malt Scotch whisky that operated between 1899 and 1983 in Forres, Moray, Scotland. Dallas Dhu means "Black Water Valley" in Gaelic. Its whisky also appeared as a "Dallas Mhor" single malt.[2] In 1899, Alexander Edward designed the Dallas Dhu distillery at the height of the whisky boom. Later he sold the plans and the distillery was built by the blender Wright and Greg. It was acquired by Benmore Distilleries Ltd, which joined DCL in 1929. The stillhouse was destroyed by a fire in 1939, but rebuilt. Production continued until the distillery closed in 1983; it is now a museum.[3]
History
Originally named "Dallasmore", the Dallas Dhu distillery was built in 1898 by Alexander Edward of the Sanquhar estate outside Forres. It featured a pagoda roof designed by Scottish architect Charles C. Doig. When ownership of the distillery changed to Wright & Greig Ltd. in 1899, it was renamed to "Dallas Dhu". Production began on 29 May 1899 and the first cask was filled on 3 June.[4]
Starting in 1909, David Lloyd George introduced restrictions on distilling in the United Kingdom; these included increased taxes and the requirement that all whisky sold had been aged for at least three years.[4]
In 1919, the distillery was sold to J. P. O'Brian & Co., and then again to Benmore Distilleries Ltd. in 1921 (around which time, the Dallas Dhu malt whisky was used in the Benmore blended whisky.) The Benmore owners installed new equipment, including electric lighting and mechanised switchers for the wash backs. After Benmore's acquisition by Distillers Company (DCL) in 1928, the distillery was closed until 1936. It was also transferred to the DCL subsidiary, Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD).
On 9 April 1939 the distillery, along with much of its equipment, was damaged by a fire. The distillery manager's wife called for the Forres Fire Brigade, who arrived quickly and brought the fire under control in four hours. Damage was estimated at £7000. The fire and the start of World War II delayed the distillery's re-opening until 30 March 1947.[4]
Most equipment was powered by steam engines and a large water wheel until the 1950s, when it was replaced with electric power. The worm tubs were replaced in 1956, and increasing demand saw the installation of two more wash backs, one new mash tun and one boiler in 1964. An elevator was installed in the malt barn in 1966. Between 1968 and 1969, the stills were replaced, and they were converted from coal heat to oil-fired steam heat in 1971.[4]
SMD had built a malting plant in Burghead, intended to provide malt for a number of SMD's distilleries; this led to Dallas Dhu stopping use of its own malting floor, which was last used on 30 March 1968.
Economic pressure and an unreliable water supply forced Dallas Dhu to close in 1983, and its distilling licence was withdrawn in 1992. The last barrel was filled on 16 March 1983, although the buildings were re-opened to the public in 1988 under Scotland's Historic Buildings and Monument Directorate. Historic Environment Scotland (previously Historic Scotland) has operated the property since its establishment in 1992. The distillery complex, with certain exceptions, is a Category A listed building.[5][6]
The Malt Whisky Trail Map
Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries, the Dallas Dhu historic distillery and the Speyside Cooperage. The region is a natural for whisky distillers because of three benefits: it is close to barley farms, contains the River Spey and is close to the port of Garmouth. At Dallas Dhu, "visitors can wander the grounds, learn about the craft of Scotch whisky, and tour the two-storey malt barn warehouse, kiln and other original sections of the distillery", according to a BBC article. [7]
Related Research Articles
Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland.
The Glenlivet distillery is a distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. It is the oldest legal distillery in Scotland. It was founded in 1824 and has operated almost continuously since.
Glenfiddich distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery owned by William Grant & Sons in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic Gleann Fhiodhaich meaning "valley of the deer", which is reflected in Glenfiddich's stag logo.
Campbeltown single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies distilled in the burgh of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. Once a major producer of whisky with as many as 30 distilleries, and claiming the title "whisky capital of the world", its production has markedly declined. Most of the distilleries have gone out of business and little trace of them remains. The reason for this decline was that the town was "churning out whisky in volume ... with little concern for quality", according to a 2018 book that covers the entire industry and its history.
McClelland's Single Malt is a range of single malt Scotch whiskies from four of Scotland's key whisky distilling regions—Highland, Islay, Speyside and Lowland.
Dalwhinnie distillery, situated in the Highland village of Dalwhinnie in Scotland, produces single malt Scotch whisky. Whilst labelled as Highland, as the Dalwhinnie distillery is located in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland Council, it is in the Speyside region - noting that under SWA regulations the full Speyside region falls within the boundaries of the Highlands and so can be labelled as such. The distillery owned by Diageo.
Dailuaine distillery is a single malt whisky distillery in Charlestown-of-Aberlour, Strathspey, Scotland.
Glen Grant distillery was founded in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside, and produces single malt Scotch whisky.
Benromach distillery is a Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon and Macphail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres.
Cardhu distillery is a Speyside distillery near Archiestown, Moray, Scotland, founded in 1824 by whisky smuggler John Cumming and his wife Helen. The distillery is now run by Diageo and the distillery's Scotch whisky makes up an important part of the Johnnie Walker blended whiskies. The word "Cardhu" derives from the Scottish Gaelic Carn Dubh, meaning "Black Rock".
Glen Moray distillery is a Speyside distillery producing single malt scotch whisky. Situated on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin, Moray the distillery started production in September 1897. It was sold in 2008 by the Glenmorangie Company Ltd. to La Martiniquaise.
Strathisla distillery is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Scottish Highlands.
BenRiachdistillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in the Speyside area of Scotland. It is currently owned by Brown-Forman Corporation.
Tamdhu distillery is a single malt Scotch Speyside whisky distillery, located in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill".
Glen Ord distillery is a whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands and is the only remaining single malt scotch whisky distillery on the Black Isle.
Millburn distillery was a producer of single malt Scotch whisky that operated between 1807 and 1985. Its whisky was an important component of the "Mill Burn" vatted malt.
Glendronach distillery is a Scottish whisky distillery located near Forgue, by Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in the Highland whisky district. It was owned by the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd. The name Glendronach derives from the Scottish Gaelic Gleann Dronach which means "valley of the brambles" or "valley of the blackberries".
Mortlach distillery is a distiller of Scotch whisky in Dufftown, Moray, Scotland. Founded in 1823, the distillery is currently owned by Diageo. The whisky is a key component in several Johnnie Walker bottlings, and Diageo also markets four Mortlach single malts.
Glen Spey distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Rothes, Moray at the centre of the Speyside whisky producing area of Scotland.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
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