Macduff Distillery — Highland Single Malt Whisky

Macduff Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in the fishing port of Macduff, on the banks of the River Deveron in Aberdeenshire, Highland, Scotland. It was founded in 1960 and is currently owned by John Dewar & Sons, a subsidiary of Bacardi. Its single malt is bottled under the name "The Deveron" rather than the distillery's own name, since "Macduff" is used mainly by independent bottlers.

History

Macduff Distillery was built in 1960 by a consortium of Glasgow whisky brokers, including Brodie Hepburn, to meet rising demand during the post-war whisky boom, with the first spirit run taking place on 30 June 1960. The distillery changed hands several times over the following decades: brokers Block, Grey & Block controlled it from 1966, and in 1972 it passed to William Lawson Distillers, whose blended Scotch, William Lawson's, remains one of the main outlets for Macduff's new-make spirit. William Lawson Distillers became part of the Italian drinks group Martini & Rossi around 1980, and when Bacardi acquired Martini & Rossi in 1992, management of the distillery passed to Bacardi's Scotch whisky arm, John Dewar & Sons, which still owns and operates it today. Macduff was notable in its early years for engineering innovation, reportedly the first Scottish distillery to trial metal (carbon steel) washbacks and among the first to heat its stills with steam rather than direct fire. Although sited on the Moray Firth close to Speyside, Macduff is classified as a Highland distillery. The bulk of its output goes into blended whisky, chiefly William Lawson's, with the remainder released as a single malt under the "The Deveron" name; whisky sold as "Macduff" comes from independent bottlers rather than the distillery's owner.

Quick Facts

• Region: Highland
• Founded: 1960
• Owner: John Dewar & Sons (Bacardi)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 2 wash stills, 3 spirit stills

Core Range

Macduff's single malt is released under the "The Deveron" (also seen historically as "Glen Deveron") brand, with core expressions including The Deveron 10 Year Old and The Deveron 18 Year Old, both bottled at 40% ABV. Macduff-distilled whisky also appears periodically under the distillery's own name from independent bottlers such as Signatory and Gordon & MacPhail. The majority of Macduff's production is used as a key component of the William Lawson's blended Scotch whisky.