Dalmunach distillery is a

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

located in

Carron Carron may refer to: Rivers * River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland * River Carron, Wester Ross * River Carron, Sutherland * Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia * Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the Nort ...

in the whisky region of

Speyside Speyside can refer to: * Speyside, Ontario, a settlement in Ontario * Strathspey, Scotland, the famous whisky producing region by the River Spey ** Speyside single malts, the type of whisky produced in Strathspey * Speyside, Trinidad and Tobago ...

. The distillery is owned by

Chivas Regal Chivas Regal () is a blended Scotch whisky manufactured by Chivas Brothers, which is part of Pernod Ricard. It was founded in 1786, with its home being in the Strathisla distillery at Keith, Moray in Speyside, Scotland, and is the oldest contin ...

, a subsidiary of

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

. The water source comes from the nearby Ballinom Burn, which originates in the Mannoch Hills. The distillery is named for a nearby pool on the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

. The distillery is located beside the

Speyside Way The Speyside Way (Doric: '; gd, Slighe Shrath Spe) is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands. The route begins in Buckie and ends at Newtonmore, away. There is an optional spur leading off the main route to Tomintoul, adding and of as ...

and

Moray Way The Moray Way is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands. First conceived in 2009, the Way is an amalgam of three of Scotland's Great Trails. It combines the whole of The Dava Way, two-thirds of The Moray Coast Trail and approximately ha ...

, long distance footpaths in the region.

History

Work on the new distillery started in 2012. The new distillery occupies part of the former site of the old

Imperial distillery Imperial distillery was a producer of single malt Scotch whisky located in Carron, Speyside Carron ( gd, Carrann) is a small village on the north bank of the River Spey in Moray, Scotland. It was the site of an old distillery, the Imperial D ...

. The distillery was officially opened in 2015 by

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

, the First Minister of Scotland. The distillery cost £25 million and consists of a modern design that won the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Award for Scotland in 2015. The design is said to be inspired by the shape of a sheaf of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

. The distillery was designed to be energy efficient, using renewable energy sources. In 2019, the MP

Theresa Villiers Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chipping Barnet since 2005, having previously served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2005. A member of the ...

visited the distillery while served as Environment Secretary. In 2021, the MP Douglas Ross while serving as the Leader of the Scottish Conservatives visited the distillery.

Whisky

Much of the distillery production is used as a component in blending for Chivas Regal. The first single malt bottlings of the distillery was in 2019, with the release of a 4 year old single cask bottling.

Facilities

The distillery is one of the largest in Scotland. The distillery has a 12-tonne Briggs full Lauter

mash tun In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining a mix of ground grains – typically malted barley with supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat – known as the "grain bill" with water and then heating the ...

. There are 16 stainless steel washbacks and eight pot stills. The spirit stills have an onion shape which pays respect to the former nearby Imperial distillery. The distillery has a capacity of 10 million litres.

References

{{Scottish Distilleries Distilleries in Scotland Pernod Ricard Scottish malt whisky