Dallas Dhu

Alasdair Joyce, Steward at Dallas Dhu:

I may be biased, but I think Dallas Dhu is a really special distillery.

It was the last distillery to be built in Scotland at the end of the 19th century. It was originally named Dallas Mhor; however the malt whisky produced here was used as a base for the blended whisky Roderick Dhu. This was its main use for the first 20–30 years of its life and the distillery was quickly renamed Dallas Dhu to reflect relationship between the two.

The distillery ceased production in 1983, but is unique in that it is the only mothballed distillery that has been reopened to the public. After Historic Scotland took Dallas Dhu into its care, the distillery was opened in 1988, with the original production machines still intact.

Through a tour, visitors can encounter those relatively unchanged features, which are in the character of a 19th century distillery. Though minor changes had been made over the years due to fires or production modifications, the distillery was still largely intact prior to its closure. It is a classic 19th century distillery designed by the Elgin architect Charles Doig, who was the instigator of the classic kiln pagoda design.

Because the equipment is no longer in use, Dallas Dhu is free from the viewing restrictions that visitors would encounter in a working distillery. Usually there are a few places you can’t explore, but here you can see every bit of machinery used in the production of whisky. Most visitors to Dallas Dhu say that they actually understood more about how whisky is made because they were able to explore in their own time and get their own understanding of how the equipment works.

And even though we are not a working distillery, we offer visitors a taste of the modern version of Roderick Dhu at the end of each tour. So come and visit – we would be delighted to meet you!

Our opening times are 9:30am–5:30pm Monday to Saturday, 1 April to 30 September, and 10:00am–4:00pm, Saturday to Wednesday, 1 October to 31 March. We are closed 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January each year. You can find additional information about the distillery here.