Miltonduff Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Miltonduff, six miles south-west of Elgin, in the whisky region of Speyside, Scotland. The distillery is currently operated by Chivas Brothers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard.
History
The distillery site, originally known as 'Milton,' was chosen for its high-quality water source and was previously the site of a mill owned by Pluscarden Abbey. After the Duff family acquired the area, the distillery was established in 1824 and renamed Miltonduff. In 1866, William Stuart, who also owned Highland Park Distillery, acquired Miltonduff. Stuart partnered with Thomas Yool in 1890, expanding the distillery to produce over one million liters of alcohol annually.
In 1936, Yool sold the distillery to Hiram Walker, which later became part of Allied Distillers. The distillery site was expanded to include Allied Distillers' Malt Technical Centre, laboratory, engineering department, and management offices. In 1960, Miltonduff became notable for pioneering a new method of heating wash stills through a series of heat exchangers and a diffuser.
Pernod Ricard purchased the distillery in 2005, and it has been operated by their subsidiary, Chivas Brothers, since. In May 2022, Chivas Brothers announced an £88 million investment in expanding Miltonduff and Aberlour distilleries, including new energy-efficient production methods using Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) fan technology. A new sustainable distillery is expected to be built adjacent to the current one by 2025.
Facilities
Miltonduff Distillery features six stills and several warehouses for storage. The distillery has a production capacity of 5.5 million liters annually, making it one of the largest in the Pernod Ricard group. Water for production is sourced from the Black Burn.
Products
Miltonduff has been a key component in Ballantine's blended whisky since 1936. While most of Miltonduff's production is used in blends, the distillery has produced single malts under the names Miltonduff and Mosstowie.
Miltonduff Single Malts
- Miltonduff 10 Year Old
- Miltonduff 12 Year Old
These expressions, mostly released in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, were complemented by independent releases from bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail and Douglas Laing.
Mosstowie Single Malts
Produced using Lomond stills from 1964 to 1981, Mosstowie was intended for blends but saw limited independent releases:
- Duncan Taylor's 30 Year Old
- Gordon & MacPhail's 12 Year Old and 20 Year Old
Mosstowie was a major component in several Hiram Walker blends, including Ballantine's.
Production Details
Miltonduff operates six pot stills: three wash stills with an 18,000-liter capacity each and three spirit stills with a 17,500-liter capacity each. The distillery uses unpeated malt for Miltonduff and lightly peated malt for Mosstowie, sourced from Speyside.
The distillery has an extensive warehouse complex with both dunnage and racked warehouses, using a combination of American white oak and Sherry casks for aging.
Ownership Timeline
- William Stuart (1866)
- Thomas Yool & Company (1895)
- Hiram Walker (1936)
- Allied Distillers (1986)
- Pernod Ricard (2005)
Miltonduff Distillery, with its rich history and significant contributions to blended Scotch whisky, continues to be a prominent player in the Scotch whisky industry under the ownership of Pernod Ricard.
