Dallas Dhu distillery was a producer of

single malt Scotch whisky Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a s ...

that operated between 1899 and 1983 in

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There ...

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, Scotland. Dallas Dhu means "Black Water Valley" in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. Its whisky also appeared as a "Dallas Mhor" single malt. 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.

History

Originally named "Dallasmore", the Dallas Dhu distillery was built in 1898 by Alexander Edward of the Sanquhar estate outside

. 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. Starting in 1909,

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

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. 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 The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later f ...

(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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

delayed the distillery's re-opening until 30 March 1947. Most equipment was powered by steam engines and a large

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

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. 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. 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 Speyside Cooperage is a cooperage located in Craigellachie, Aberlour, Scotland. Its visitor centre, the only such in Britain, is part of the Malt Whisky Trail, started in the early 1980s. Each year, it produces and repairs nearly 150,000 ...

. 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.

References

External links

Dallas Dhu distillery web site
Scotch Whisky
Dallas Dhu
Whisky Distilleries
Dallas Dhu
Whisky Merchants

Malt Madness {{Authority control Distilleries in Scotland Scottish malt whisky Museums in Moray Companies based in Moray Food and drink companies established in 1899 British companies disestablished in 1983 1899 establishments in Scotland 1983 disestablishments in Scotland Museums established in 1992 1992 establishments in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed distilleries in Scotland British companies established in 1899 Forres