Whisky distilling is set to return to Dallas Dhu, a closed scotch distillery that last operated in March 1983. Aceo Distillers Co. plans to restart production in the next 12–18 months on the site, located 40 minutes east of Inverness. Parent company Aceo Limited is a UK firm of scotch whisky brokers formed 25 years ago, that took over independent bottler Murray McDavid in 2013. This will be the first time the company has operated a distillery.
The resurrection of long-closed distilleries, such as Brora, Port Ellen, and Rosebank which have reopened this decade, usually requires years of extensive construction to erect suitable buildings and equip the site with functioning equipment. Dallas Dhu is quite different as it was kept intact. Situated near Benromach on the outskirts of Forres, the distillery has been operating as a heritage museum since 1988. When it closed, then-owners United Distillers Ltd., a forerunner of Diageo, handed custody over to the government, where it has been preserved for posterity under the care of Historic Environment Scotland for the past 41 years as a time capsule of distilling. Whisky lovers can explore the online archive of historic photographs of the distillery captured during its heyday. Dallas Dhu was not the only closed distillery to operate as a heritage museum, as Jameson Bow Street and the Old Midleton Distillery Experience both offer visitors a glimpse into the past. The reopening of Dallas Dhu will be a collaborative endeavor: Aceo will upgrade the facilities in a phased approach and manage distillery operations, while the guardianship of the Dallas Dhu property remains unchanged and stays with the government body.
Built by Alexander Edward in 1898–99, Dallas Dhu was a traditional Victorian distillery. It had mixed fortunes and passed through several hands before it was acquired by Distillers Company Limited in 1929, and was operated by its subsidiary Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. Even then it had a checkered history, with several periods of closure during the 20th century. Electric power was only introduced in 1950, and a water wheel powered the wash still rummagers (the moving arms that keep the bottom of the still clean) until 1971, when indirect-heated steam coils replaced direct-firing for distillation. The distillery was equipped with a copper-topped mash tun, six Oregon pine washbacks, and two onion-shaped copper pot stills with downward-sloping lyne arms connected to worm tub condensers. It had traditional dunnage warehouses and even had its own connection to the rail network. Dallas Dhu used to produce 300,000 proof gallons a year, which is similar to today’s output from distilleries like Glencadam or Knockando.
The collectible Rare Malts Selection included several lightly peated expressions of Dallas Dhu distilled in 1970 and 1975. Subsequently, the museum sold its own expressions, including a centenary bottling released in 1999, and a bottling of the last cask ever filled in 1983. Independent bottlings of Dallas Dhu can still be found at auction and specialist stores, particularly expressions from Gordon & MacPhail, Cadenhead’s, Douglas Laing, and Signatory, as well as distillery 45 bottlings from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Aceo plans to restart traditional whisky making using the original equipment supported by the latest technology to meet the modern requirements of sustainable distillery practices. The distillers intend to use locally grown barley, which in time, will be malted on-site once its floor maltings are operational. The distillery has an original pagoda designed by Charles Doig, though floor malting ceased at Dallas Dhu in 1968, long before the distillery closed in 1983.
Over time, the new operators intend to upgrade the museum’s self-guided audio tour and transform it into an educational hub and state-of-the-art visitor destination offering tours of a working Speyside distillery including a VR experience, cooperage display, and working floor maltings. The distillery also has a café/restaurant and hosts local community events such as art exhibitions, workshops, concerts, and ceilidhs. The distillery is expected to open to visitors again this fall.
