Macduff Distillery
celebrates 60 years of whisky
production
Following the lifting of government
controls on the distilling industry in
1959, including malt and grain rationing
which had been in place since World War
II, the door was opened to increase
whisky production in Scotland and one of
the first distilleries to be constructed
was the new modern (for its time)
Macduff Distillery near Banff in the
east Highlands.
The Macduff Distillery distillery was
founded by a group of Glasgow brokers -
George T. Crawford, James Stirrat and
Brodie Hepburn who together formed the
Glendeveron Distillers Ltd. Brodie
Hepburn from the group brought with him
knowledge and experience of owning other
distilleries such as the William
Delme-Evans designed Tullibardine
distillery which he purchased from
William Delme-Evans in 1953, he was also
later behind the founding of Deanston
distillery in 1965 but before that it
was architect William Delme-Evans who
Brodie Hepburn and the rest of the
Glendeveron Distillers Ltd turned to for
the design of Macduff Distillery.
Just
over 60 years ago, 16th June 1960, the
Macduff Distillery in Banffshire filled
its first cask of single malt whisky,
Cask #1 was filled by two of the
Glendeveron Distillers Ltd founders and
their wives, Mr & Mrs James Stirrat and
Mr & Mrs George T. Crawford.
However the official opening of the
Macduff Distillery didn't take place
until around 10 weeks later, in fact it was
exactly 60 years ago, on Thursday, 1st September, 1960
and it was officially opened by Colonel
Sir George W. Abercromby, 8th Baronet, D.S.O. Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire.
The official opening was attended by
local business people, members of the
whisky industry and the local press and
the 1st September is the date the
distillery marks their anniversary each
year, as it was the moment Macduff
distillery went officially ‘into the
whisky business’.
Even
some of the most ardent whisky connoisseurs amongst you could be forgiven for not recognising
Macduff Distillery, as the single malt
whisky it produces today does not carry the
distillery name, you may be more
familiar with Glendeveron single malt
whisky or more recently in 2015 the
single malt was rebranded 'The Deveron',
at least the whisky available in the
domestic market was, for some reason
they chose to retain the name
Glendeveron for the Macduff distillery's
travel retail offerings.
Back in 1960, Macduff Distillery’s first
manager was James Nicol who oversaw the
bottling of its first whisky in 1968 – a
five-year-old, labelled ‘Macduff Pure
Highland Malt Scotch Whisky’. The reason the whisky
hasn't retained the name Macduff is the Distillers' Company Limited, now Diageo, own the
brand name Macduff.
Following the late 1960s Macduff Pure
Highland Malt 5 year old
bottling there was a mid-1970s release
of a Glendeveron 8 year old.
There was also a Glendeveron 12 year
old year old in the 1980s and more
recently there was a 10 year old.
Most of the whisky produced since the distillery's construction has gone into
blends such as the current owners, (Barcardi)
John Dewar & Sons, very popular William Lawson's
Scotch blended whisky although
some has been sold as single malt under
the name Glendeveron over the years.
In 2013 things began to change when
(Barcardi) John Dewar & Sons, launched
the the global travel retail exclusive
Glen Deveron Royal Burgh Collection
which was made up of three single malts
- Glen Deveron 16 Year Old, Glen Deveron
20 Year Old and Glen Deveron 30 Year
Old. Each is made with previously
unreleased rare, aged whiskies
hand-selected from the distillery’s
private reserve.
This
was followed in late 2015 when John
Dewars & Sons rebranded the single malt
'The Deveron' and launched The Deveron
10, 12 and 18 year old into the domestic
market.
Today,
Jamie Winfield holds the prestigious
Macduff Distillery Manager title, he
commented: "The distillery’s history and
its importance to the local area is
always front of mind when I walk in each
morning. It’s a real privilege to be
part of its past, present and future as
we build on generations of craftsmanship
and skill, alongside the very latest
technology, to create incredible
whiskies that are enjoyed around the
world. This week, both here at the
distillery and with our 7,000-strong
global Bacardi family, we’re taking a
moment to celebrate a successful 60
years in the whisky business for Macduff
– here’s to many more fantastic years to
come!"
Based in Glasgow, Jacqueline Seargeant, Global
Heritage Manager for Bacardi, is
responsible for archiving the rich
history of Bacardi’s distilleries in
Scotland. She comments, "At Bacardi we
have 158 years of history, going right
back to the founding of the company in
Cuba in 1862. Recording and sharing
those stories is what my team and I do
every day. I’ve loved delving into the
archives ahead of the Macduff 60th and
uncovering the news cuttings,
photographs and even video footage which
documents the distillery’s past.
"It was a significant moment for the
local area when Macduff opened its
doors. There was an official opening on
1st September 1960 which was attended by
the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire,
Colonel Sir George W. Abercromby 8th
Baronet D.S.O, as well as local business
people, members of the whisky industry
and the local press. That’s the date we
mark our anniversary each year, as it
was the moment Macduff distillery was
officially ‘in business’.
"This period was the dawning of a new
era in distilling processes. Production
at Macduff was simple and compact,
focusing on energy saving techniques
such as lagged pot stills which were
also steam heated and the use of gravity
instead of pumps. It’s fantastic to see
that respect for the distillery’s
beautiful natural surroundings still
firmly in place today.
"From changes in ownership to adapting
to changes in technology and whisky
production techniques, it’s been a
fascinating journey for Macduff over the
last six decades, and I have no doubt
there will be many more amazing stories
to come."
The
whisky produced at Macduff still to a
certain extent gets overlooked by some
whisky drinkers today which is a pity as
they do produce a quality dram, here's
to the next 60 years and if you want to
explore what they have to offer you will
find The Deveron whisky range
available from specialist online whisky retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange and
Master of Malt