XLIX

Dailuaine Distillery, Speyside

May 14th, 1924

Dailuaine Distillery lies in a wooded ravine three miles from the village of Aberlour. No part of Scotland is richer in scenery than Speyside, but Nature seems to have lavished her gifts upon the neighbourhood of Dailuaine with exceptional generosity. In summer the little glen of Dailuaine becomes a shady wonderland of birch and pine trees; sparkling mountain streams descend blithely from the mossy uplands of Ben Rinnes, and pass through clusters of green foliage to the valleys around the distillery, and, from a spur nearby, the eye roams over the tortuous windings of the Spey, exquisitely framed for many miles in a rugged landscape of hill and forest.

Three graceful streams meet together at the back of Dailuaine, and the banks of one form the scene of a delightful legend. Smuggling was certainly carried on in this district at one time, and according to the story there is a haunted “bothie” hidden in a recess near this stream. If you visit the lonely spot at midnight on a wild dark night (the wilder and darker, the better), you may see the fires of the haunted “bothie” flickering weirdly through the gloom, as though in eternal defiance of the hated Excise-men who raided the place and destroyed the stills. This, at any rate, was the vision seen by a Highland shepherd forty years ago but, being a native of Speyside, it is possible that he had a good source of inspiration.

A more reliable story of Dailuaine is that of James Grant, known as “James-an-Tuan,” or James of The Hills, a picturesque ruffian who had a stronghold in the neighbourhood in the 17th century. This individual used to wage a perpetual private war with the Lairds of Ballindalloch, and many years passed before he was finally hunted down to his refuge on the slopes of Ben Rinnes.

The three streams that meet at the distillery form the Carron burn, which drives the water wheels, comprising part of the motive power used in the malting and mashing departments. Dailuaine Distillery extends over five acres, and two farms are leased by the proprietors mainly for the purpose of effluent disposal. Coal and barley are brought into the premises by a private locomotive, through the medium of a long siding from the Great North of Scotland Railway.

Most of the buildings had to be entirely rebuilt as a result of a widespread fire in the year 1917, and the whole establishment has since been equipped with the latest fire-fighting appliances on a scale larger than in any other distillery we have so far visited. The malting floors and barley lofts are immense. Incoming barley is dried in a barley kiln before immersion in two enormous steeps, each of 100 quarters’ capacity. The malt kiln, holding 200 quarters, is floored with metal plates, and the furnace is controlled by the ubiquitous King’s patent regulator. Fuel comprises a large proportion of peat mixed with coke.

To give an idea of the tremendous dimensions of the remainder of the maltings, it is only necessary to add that there are four malt- hoppers with a total capacity of 2,500 quarters, eight grist hoppers containing 600 bushels each, and an extra hopper with accommodation for 600 bushels placed directly above the Boby mill.

The mashing apparatus and stills occupy a gigantic building. The quantity of malt mashed weekly amounts to 4,200 bushels, roughly four times the normal supply dealt with in a distillery of average size, and three mammoth heaters provide the hot water for the process. Wet draff from the mash-tun is dropped through chutes either to a drying plant or to trucks, which remove it from the premises.

In the tun-room are eight washbacks, each with a capacity of 22,000 gallons, and for cooling the wort before it enters the backs there are two vertical refrigerators. Opposite the four stills in the still-house are three chargers for wash, low Wines, and feints, and the total capacity of the stills is 27,100 gallons. Uninteresting in themselves, these statistics yet serve to emphasise the tremendous extent of Dailuaine Distillery compared with some of its neighbours.

The output of Dailuaine-Glenlivet Whisky is roughly 10,000 proof gallons, and the warehouses can store a million gallons at a time. Electric lighting has been installed throughout the premises and in the manager’s house, and the driving power for all purposes is provided by an excellent 25 h.p. steam engine reinforced by two large water wheels. The effluent is pumped up to the two farms leased by the firm, and for distributing these waste liquids on the fields there is an elaborate system of miles of piping and hose.

Dailuaine is owned by the Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries, Ltd., of Carron, Morayshire.