Glendullan Distillery — Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Glendullan Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located near Dufftown, Speyside, Scotland. It was founded in 1897 and is currently owned by Diageo. Its output has long been prized as a key component of blended Scotch, particularly Old Parr, while also serving as one of the three distilleries behind Diageo's popular Singleton single malt range.

History

Glendullan was built in 1897 by William Williams & Sons, a firm of Aberdeen blenders and brokers, on the banks of the River Fiddich just outside Dufftown — the seventh distillery to be established in what would become known as the malt whisky capital of the world. Demand for its whisky grew quickly, helped in part by the story that Glendullan was supplied to the royal household at Balmoral in the early 1900s. In 1925, William Williams & Sons merged with Greenlees Brothers and the combined business was absorbed into the Distillers Company Limited (DCL), the forerunner of today's Diageo, which the site became part of following the 1997 merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan.

In 1972, DCL built a modern second distillery immediately next to the original Victorian buildings, and for over a decade the two plants operated side by side under the same name. The original 1897 distillery was closed in 1985, leaving the 1972 plant as the sole surviving Glendullan distillery, which remains in production today. Historically most of Glendullan's spirit has gone into blends, above all Old Parr, which remains especially popular in the United States and Latin America. Since the early 2000s a portion of production has also been bottled as single malt under the Singleton of Glendullan label, created specifically for the US market alongside its sister expressions The Singleton of Glen Ord and The Singleton of Dufftown.

Quick Facts

• Region: Speyside
• Founded: 1897
• Owner: Diageo
• Status: Active
• Stills: 3 wash stills, 3 spirit stills

Core Range

Glendullan single malt is marketed as The Singleton of Glendullan, principally in the United States, with a core range built around The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old (40% ABV, matured mainly in ex-bourbon American oak with a smaller proportion of ex-sherry European oak), alongside older 15 and 18 Year Old expressions. Diageo has also released official distillery bottlings under the Flora and Fauna and Special Releases series. The bulk of Glendullan's output, however, continues to go into blended Scotch whiskies, most notably Old Parr.