Dufftown

Dufftown distillery is one of seven whisky distilleries in and around the Banffshire town of Dufftown (the others being Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Mortlach, Glendullan, Kininvie and Convalmore).

Now one of the largest producers in Diageo’s whisky distillery portfolio, Dufftown was founded by the Dufftown-Glenlivet Company in 1895. For most of the 20th century the distillery was under the ownership of Arthur Bell and Sons, who used the its single malt in their flagship blended whisky.

Though generally known for this purpose (most of Dufftown’s prodigious output goes into blends such as Bell’s, with only 3% produced as single malts), Dufftown began to establish reputation for its single malts (made in a grassier Speyside style than the malty style associated with Bell’s) with the advent of the Singleton of Dufftown brand.

In recent years there has been only one other official house bottling – a Flora and Fauna 15 year-old – though a number of others released during the 1990s are still on the market. Independent bottlings of Dufftown single malt have been scarce, with Signatory, Whisky Galore and Murray McDavid among the most notable.