THE reopening of a historic Highland distillery after more than 40 years has been hailed as a “unique” chance for the local community to play a “greater role” in the whisky tourism industry.
Dallas Dhu, in Moray Speyside, is set to begin as a functioning distillery once again thanks to a joint operation between Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and Aceo Distillers Company Limited (Aceo) which was announced on Monday.
The century-old distillery has been closed for more than 40 years since it shut down in 1983 and was only reopened in 1992 as a museum.
However, Dallas Dhu is due to open its doors once again as a unique heritage attraction and aims to showcase the art of traditional Scottish whisky making.
Richard Lochhead, who has long been campaigning for Dallas Dhu to reopen as a functioning distillery, has welcomed the news.
The SNP MSP man had met with HES several times over the years to discuss how to re-introduce whisky production at the distillery.
He is now thrilled at the news as a spokesperson for Lochhead said: “Dallas Dhu is unique in that it is Scotland’s only historic distillery and Richard has long argued that the site has huge potential to not only restart the production of whisky but to play a greater role in the growing whisky tourism industry.
“Having pushed for the distillery to be brought into activity for some time, he is delighted that plans are now in place to invest in Dallas Dhu, to develop the site, and to reintroduce whisky production in such a way that showcases traditional distilling techniques.
“This is fantastic news for the Forres area but also the wider Speyside region – home to over half the whisky produced in Scotland – and we look forward to seeing these ambitious and exciting plans for this landmark distillery coming to life.”
HES confirmed they will retain guardianship of the site on behalf of Scottish ministers while Aceo will oversee operations at Dallas Dhu.
The distillery is best known for producing single malt whisky for the popular Roderick Dhu blend for nearly a century.
HES have confirmed they will prioritise investment into sustainable improvements to the distillery to ensure the historic and artisanal nature of the distilling process remains central at Dallas Dhu.
