Dailuaine

DailuaineSingle Malt Scotch Whisky

In the early 1890s, shortly after Charles Doig had installed the industy's first ever pagoda-style distillery roof at Dailuaine, the partnership between Mackenzie and Fleming was rearranged, taking the name Dailuaine-Glenlivet.

By 1916, when an initial stake in the company was bought by Distillers Company Ltd (DCL, a consortium of blenders including Johns Dewar and Walker as well as James Buchanan), the company had not only merged with Talisker and Imperial, but also acquired the Bon Accord grain distillery in Aberdeenshire, renaming it North of Scotland.

A fire in 1917 destroyed the original pagoda roof and put Dailuaine out of commission for three years. After production had recommenced the Dailuaine-Talisker Company (as it was by then known)was fully acquired by DCL in 1925, with control being transferred to DCL's subsidiary Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) in 1930. DCL/SMD was later to become part of Diageo.

In 1960, following another fire,the distillery was rebuilt and expanded again, taking the total number of stills to six. Even today, Dailauine is one of the largest distilleries in Diageo's portfolio in terms of potential production capacity. It needs to be - the malt produced at Dailuaine is a key ingredient in the Johnnie Walker stable, with only 2% of production being retained as a single malt. During the same rebuild a Saladin Box malting system was installed, which remained in operation until 1983. The distillery was converted to indirect steam heating in 1965.

Despite being a very well-respected single malt, Dailuaine has never been a part of Diageo's Classic Malts range, and very few official bottlings have been released. For the same reason, independent bottlings are few and far between. The Flora and Fauna 16 year-old bottling remains the main expression, and is much-praised for its assertive, sweet, richly-sherried profile.