Dufftown

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Founded

1896

Region

Speyside

Status

Operational

Company

Diageo

Production type

Single Malt

Production capacity

6,000,000 litres per year

Dufftown is located in the town of the same name in Scotland's Speyside region and, until the opening of Roseisle in 2009, was the largest malt distillery in the Diageo portfolio. It was originally opened in 1896 and was quickly acquired by the blender, P. Mackenzie & Co. It has primarily served the needs of blending companies ever since, however as of 2006 has been one of three distilleries that contribute single malts to The Singleton brand.

The requirements of its owners over the years has meant that the style of single malt produced at Dufftown has changed over the years, with the nutty-spicy character of the Arthur Bell & Sons era having given way to light, grassier new make under the ownership of Diageo.

Although globally-known for its Bell's blended Scotch label, Arthur Bell & Sons also saw a value in single malt whisky and bottled a Dufftown brand from the 1960s onwards. It was introduced alongside Blair Athol and, despite several redesigns, both were always marketed with matching liveries, the earliest being black labels with a small illustration of each distillery. In the later 1970s this was swapped out for a design featuring the Bell's company crest with the Dufftown label accented in red and Blair Athol in blue. The standard offering from Dufftown was an 8-year-old, however some rare 30-, 40-, and 45-year-olds were also also released in the 1970s.

The final version of the Dufftown brand was introduced by Arthur Bell & Sons in the mid-1980s and only briefly marketed prior to its merger with Distillers Company to form United Distillers, who promptly discontinued it. It featured a new beige label design and a replaced the long-serving 8-year-old with a 10-year-old instead.

While Dufftown single malts continued to be bottled, the distillery has not been uniquely marketed since that 10-year-old was released. A 15-year-old was introduced as part of the Flora & Fauna range in 1991 before the distillery became part of a new-look The Singleton stable in 2006.

Current owner

1997-present

1985-1997

1933-1985

P. Mackenzie & Co Distillers

1897-1933

Dufftown Distillery
Church Street
Dufftown
Keith
AB55 4BR
Scotland

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