Singleton of Dufftown Single Malt Whisky

Dufftown has been branded as the whisky capital of the world, as the town produces more of the stuff than anywhere else. This is especially impressive for a small town in the North East of Scotland with a population of around 1500. The eponymous Dufftown distillery has an annual capacity of around 5.6 million litres; making it one of the largest in the area, second only to Glenfiddich which produces 10 million litres per year.

The Dufftown distillery was converted from an old mill in 1896. One year later the distillery was acquired by MacKenzie & Co. who also owned Blair Athol distillery, and in 1933 was purchased by Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd. Since then, the spirit produced at Dufftown has been an important element in the Bells blend, and continues to be used primarily for blends now that it is part of the Diageo portfolio.

The single malt produced at Dufftown distillery is, confusingly, released with the brand name Singleton rather than the name of the originating distillery as is traditional. In the past these bottles were quite rare, generally only available through duty-free travel channels, but have become much more widely available in recent years. You can now find Singleton of Dufftown expressions aged 12, 15, and 18 years, as well as no age statements such as Sunray and Tailfire.