Miltonduff

Miltonduff is a single malt Scotch whisky produced at the distillery of the same name. Founded in 1824, the distillery stands six miles southwest of Elgin in the famous Speyside region.

Today, the distillery is part of the Chivas Brothers group, which is owned by Pernod Ricard.  

Miltonduff is home to a fresh, floral Speyside whisky. The spirit is often described as sweet and fragrant with tasting notes of fresh citrus and honey.    

Miltonduff is capable of producing 5 million litres of alcohol in a single year. Of all the Chivas distilleries, only Glenlivet can produce a greater quantity. 

The plant was originally set up to triple distil but now double distillation is the preferred method.

A set of Lomond stills were installed in the 1960s. These ultra-flexible stills were used to produce the Mosstowie single malt for Ballantine’s blended Scotch.

The Lomond stills were replaced by traditional pot stills in 1981. There are now six stills in use. Each has a steeply descending lyne arm which minimises reflux and adds oiliness to the new make.

Miltonduff spirit matures in a combination of bourbon whiskey barrels, American oak hogsheads and ex-sherry casks.

Official bottlings are rare but in 2017, a 15-year-old single malt was released as part of the Ballantine’s Single Malt Series. There have also been cask strength versions in Chivas’ Distillery Reserve Collection including a 1998 vintage 16-year-old. Independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail, Duncan Taylor and Douglas Laing have also released their own versions of Miltonduff.       

The distillery stands on the grounds of Pluscarden Abbey. The lands surrounding the Abbey were used by illicit distillers for generations. When the Excise Act came into force in 1823, Andrew Peary and Robert Bain decided to turn their sma’ still into a legitimate business.

Originally known as Milton, the distillery took the Duff name after the family that owned the land.   

The two men ran the distillery until the 1860s when it was taken over by Thomas Yool & Company. Yool later sold it to Hiram Walker in 1936.

The Canadian distiller had become rich smuggling whisky into the US during prohibition. With the alcohol ban lifted, it needed to secure a steady supply of stock for its Ballantine’s blended Scotch brand.

By the 1960s, Scotch whisky was booming and Hiram Walker needed to diversify its production. A set of Lomond stills were installed at Miltonduff so that different spirits could be created. The distillery underwent a major reconstruction in 1974 to increase capacity further.

By 1981 the whisky industry was in decline, however. Over-production led to an excess of stocks that came to be known as the whisky loch. The Lomond stills were removed and production at Miltonduff slowed.

In 1987, Hiram Walker was taken over by Allied Distillers. Allied, in turn, became part of Pernod Ricard in 2005. The takeover brought Miltonduff under the Chivas Brothers portfolio for the first time.

The boom in single malt sales that began in the 2000s has largely gone unnoticed at Miltonduff. Instead, the distillery continues to produce spirit for blends whilst single malts remain few and far between.