Scottish Malt Whisky Distilleries Alphabetically A-D

Whisky > Scottish Malt Whisky Distilleries Alphabetically A-D:

Aberfeldy Aberfeldy, the home of Dewar's whisky, a good single malt Scotch whisky that is a great "all-rounder" making it an ideal whisky present be it for a special birthday or a fathers day whisky. Once available as a single malt whisky in the Flora & Fauna series, its main expression as a single malt is now a twelve year version as well as good independent bottlings like Connoisseurs Choice from whisky brokers Gordon & MacPhail.

Aberlour Aberlour is a great Speyside single malt whisky, always the favourite in France due to be owned by Pernod Ricard since 1975. The single cask strength malt Aberlour A'bunadh, a limited edition whisky, is a gloriously rich and sherried whisky, one of the best. A good Speyside single malt whisky, that has always blessed our whisky shop shelves.

Allt-a-Bhainne Allt a Bhaine is one of the new Speyside malt whisky distilleries. Opened by Chivas in 1975, it produced whisky through the grim years only to be mothballed in 1992, it reopened a few years later to meet the demand for whisky from the emerging markets. Good expressions of this whisky from independent whisky bottlers include Gordon and Macphail, Cadenheads whisky company and Queen of the Moorlands.

An Cnoc (Knockdhu) An Cnoc or Knockdhu - call it what you like. To avoid confusion with Knocando whisky, Knockdhu changed the name of its whisky to An Cnoc in 1993. Now under the ownership of Inver House Distillers whose gems include the whisky from Speyburn, Balmenach, Old Pulteney and Balblair. Good all round whisky.

Ardbeg The greatest Islay single malt whisky one can buy? Ardbegs famous expressions have included the Lord of the Isles, Committee Reserve, Managers dram, Kildalton, Ardbeg 1965 and Provenance. Whisky collectors, whisky drinkers, whisky investors all clamour for the whisky of the gods, ARDBEG.

Ardmore Ardmore is a seriously good single malt scotch whisky from Speyside. Ardmore's whisky is one of the principal components of the Teachers blended whisky. Ardmore has a wonderful layering of peat that makes its whisky such a great drink. Now with a choice of distillery bottles as well as some great independent bottlers like Signatory whisky or Cadenheads whisky company

Arran Arran distillery is quite a success story in the whisky world. With only a small budget and competing against the big boys in the world of whisky, the Arran distillery has done really well. With a distillery manager ex Bowmore and a wealth of cask expressions, the Arran distillery has a great future producing quality whisky. Being the only whisky producer on the popular holiday destination of Arran must help.

Auchentoshan Auchentoshan is often refered to as Glasgow's whisky, a gentle easy going single malt that is triple distilled (almost the only one!) that has the power of Japanese giant, Suntory behind its helm. Auchentoshan Three Woods is a seriously good single malt whisky and The Golden Cask expression at cask strength, shows that Lowland whisky deserves better attention.

Auchroisk Formarly marketed as The Singleton (of Auchroisk), this single malt was renamed as Auchroisk and rebranded under The Flora and Fauna whisky range. The Rare Malts expression is a great one for the whisky collectors as not only is the whisky a distillery bottle, but it's from the first year of production, 1974.

Aultmore Aultmore distillery was formally part of the United Distiuller's Flora and Fauna Range of whisky before being sold to John Dewar/Bacardi. A 12 year old single malt whisky is released by the distillery along with a few worthwhile independent bottles of whisky that tend to be limited single cask expressions

Balblair Balblair is a great single malt whisky form the same owners that make whisky from Old Pulteney and Speyburn. It is a whisky that ages well which was why Gordon and Macphail always used to release old bottlings as a 40 year or 50 year expression to coincide as anniversary bottles for the whisky drinker. The new owners do some great expressions of Balblair from their younger whisky to their older 33 year old.

Balmenach Balmenach is a beautiful Speyside single malt whisky whose first appearance as a distillery bottle was as a part of the Flora & Fauna range of whisky. Surprisingly it was never released as a single malt whisky as part of the Rare Malts Series, but Inverhouse have in the past released a few limited editions, destined for the collections of whisky enthusiasts. The Deerstalker 18 years is a great expression.

Balvenie Balvenie sits within the grounds of Glenfiddich distillery in the beautiful valley of whisky, Speyside. The Balvenie single malt scotch whisky is probably one of our favourite Speyside whiskies, makers of the good value Doublewood whisky amongst others and responsible for iconic bottle of Balvenie Founders Reserve whisky from the eighties. The 30 years is sensational whilst the Cadenheads version is amazing.

Banff Banff is one of the lost distilleries, production of whisky stopped at Banff in 1983 when the distillery closed. Later the distillery was partly demolished, before being closed permanently by fire in 1991. Whisky from Banff is getting harder to find, the distillery bottle in the rare malt series has gone so the only option now is the independent bottlers. Good aged examples of this whisky include Cadenheads and Signatory.

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis malt whisky is often overlooked - wrongly so! With the unsung hero of Colin Ross, steering the helm after some 20 years, the distillery is very good hands and produces good single malt as well as some great blended whisky. The 10 years old expression is supplemented by good independant bottles from Signatory Whisky company and an excellent cask strength whisky under The Golden Cask label.

BenRiach Benriach is the great success of the whisky world! Meticulous cask selection, interesting doublewood finishing, a great range of good valued classic Speyside whisky as well as the Islay styled peated whisky coupled with some great Whisky Bible scores, have helped BenRiach's meteoric rise in whisky stardom. We stock 16 whiskies from BenRiach in our shop in Yorkshire - so you can tell we like it

Benrinnes The unassuming single malt whisky from Benrinnes has never set anybody on fire. Available as a distillery bottle in both the Flora and Fauna Range and The Rare Malts Series of whisky, but not for long as these ranges of whiskies are no longer available. The 1974 Connoisseurs Choice Benrinnes is probably the oldest and best value bottle of single malt whisky you will come across.

Benromach Benromach is a speyside single malt of great distinction, resurrected by Gordon and Macphail after its closure in 1983. Some great whiskies have been released since including a 25 years old whisky (great for a silver wedding anniversary) and for those not on a tight budget a gorgeous 40 year single malt whisky is available from this Speyside distillery. There was a Rare Malts expression which has now sadly gone.

Bladnoch Bladnoch is a great single malt whisky but also a beautiful lowland distillery. Raymond Armstrong deserves a medal for bringing Bladnoch distillery out of its mothballed distillery status and starting to produce whisky again. Older whisky bottles include the Flora and Fauna and The Rare Malts range, new distillery Bladnoch bottles are very good, as are the independent bottles from Signatory Whisky.

Blair Athol Blair Athol distillery is bizarrely not in the village of Blair Athol, better know for Blair Castle instead its situated in the tourist town of Pitlochry. Older expressions of this whisky have included the great Arthur Bell Coat of Arms Blair Athol, and more recently Blair Athol whisky has been bottled as a Flora & Fauna bottle and under The Rare Malts Series of whisky.

Bowmore Bowmore is a beautiful distillery in a romantic setting on the shores of Loch Indaal in the town of Bowmore on the island of Islay. Bowmore whisky is famous the world over due to a great range of single malts and some highly collectable expressions of Bowmore whisky. Past treasures have included Black Bowmore, Bowmore Fly Fishing and Bowmore Bicentenary.

Braeval / Braes of Glenlivet The whisky distillery of Braes of Glenlivet was established by Chivas brothers in 1973. After almost 20 years they decide to avoid confusion with their more famous whisky, The Glenlivet they change the name to Braeval. From a whisky collecting point of view, the Connoisseurs Choice bottle from 1975 is very interesting.

Brora Brora whisky is becoming ever more difficult to find, since the distillery was closed and demolished in 1983. Originally called Clynelish, the whisky named Brora was only produced for about 14 years, so anything from the early seventies is a pretty, special whisky. Brora whisky has always been held in very high regard.

Bruichladdich Bruichladdich is the great success story in the world of whisky. Under the new owners they are responsible for more bottles of whisky from a distillery than any other: The Bruichladdich Golf Course (Links) series, Octomore, Blacker Still, PC5, Bruichladdich Redder Still, Legacy. Name a whisky cask and Bruichladdich has done it. They have even reopened a closed distillery - Port Charlotte, with PC5, PC6, PC7 and the new PC8.

Bunnahabhain Bunnahabhain is perhaps one of the most underrated distilleries on Islay. Bunnahabhain can produce both gentle Islay styled whisky and then the big heavy peated whisky that Islay is famous for. There are some very good old examples of the beautiful whisky that Bunnahabhain produces from the independent whisky bottlers like Signatory Whisky Company and Douglas Laing.

Caol Ila Caol Ila is perhaps the most modern of all of the Islay whisky distilleries. With an enviable position close to Bunnahabhain distillery and overlooking the Isle of Jura, Caol Ila was actually rebuilt between 1972 and 1974. Owned by Diageo, Caol Ila was always overshadowed by Lagavulin with only an odd bottle available in the Flora and Fauna whisky range. Luckily the range of whisky has expanded of late and now includes amongst others the excellent double wood matured, distillers edition.

Caperdonich Caperdonich has had a chequered history despite being owned by the whisky big boys, Chivas Brothers. Having a somewhat confused earlier life being named as Glen Grant Number 2, the distillery reopened in 1965 as Caperdonich. For most of its life, the whisky of Caperdonich has only really been available from the independent whisky bottlers, good examples are Duncan Taylor and Signatory

Cardhu Cardhu whisky is huge, a massive brand of whisky in central Europe, in particular Spain. Known as Cardow prior to 1981, Cardhu caused its owners great problems in 2002 when they decided to start selling Cardhu as a vatted malt instead of a single malt whisky. Uproar followed and Cardhu reverted to its former single malt whisky. Older expressions of this whisky have included a Rare Malts bottle.

Clynelish Clynelish or Brora, it always confuses me but great whisky either way. Clynelish distillery was known as Brora from it reopening in 1969 until Brora disappeared in 1983 to be renamed Clynelish. Bottles of this whisky have included a number as Rare Malt bottlings and the flora and fauna range, a brilliant whisky under the Distillers Edition range as well as some great independent bottles, seriously good whisky.

Coleburn Coleburn was one of the raft of closed and lost distilleries in the mid eighties. Having only appeared once as a distillery bottling of whisky under the guise of The Rare Malts Selection, bottles of Coleburn are very difficult to come buy. For the whisky collectors of the world, buy whatever bottles of Coleburn whisky you can.

Convalmore Convalmore distillery closed in 1985, was sold to the Grant family of Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kinvinie whisky fame. Convalmore whisky was released once under the Rare Malts series and also as a special 28 year old release from the distillery. Occasional bottles of Convalmore whisky are bottled by independent bottlers such as Cadenheads or Scotts Selection. A great one for the whisky collectors.

Cragganmore Cragganmore whisky is best known as a member of the Classic malts. Cragganmore has always been prized by whisky blenders, and unlike the rest of the Classic malt range is often available to the independent whisky bottlers. Old versions do exist, including a great example of old Cragganmore whisky under the Secret Stills label from Gordon & MacPhail as a 1966 version.

Craigellachie The whisky of Craigellachie has always been one of the hardest for those wanting to complete the Flora and Fauna series of whisky, as along with Aberfeldy, Brackla and Aultmore, they were sold before the Flora & Fauna range were discontinued. Despite a huge increase in production, stocks of Craigellachie whisky seem quite rare.

Dailuaine Dailuaine was released in the Flora and Fauna range of whiskies as a 16 year old, which has now been discontinued. A few older examples of Dailuane whisky appeared in 1996 as Rare Malt bottlings, otherwise the oldest whisky from Dailuaine we have seen is the 1971, 35 year old from Douglas Laings Old Malt Cask range.

Dallas Dhu Dallas Dhu, another of the closed/lost distilleries having closed in 1983 and been sold to historic Scotland as a museum. Released as a whisky in the Rare malts selection, Dallas Dhu has always been appreciated as a very good single malt. With stocks of Dallas Dhus whisky fast drying up, getting older expressions of this classic highland malt is getting difficult. The Dallas Dhu bottled by Cadenheads is marvellous.

Dalmore If you want a whisky with glorious richness, then Dalmore should tick the box. With the most famous master blender, Richard Paterson, an iconic whisky figure at the helm, Dalmore is in great hands. Dalmore is a highland whisky that can take age, so they have become world famous for their opulent aged sherry cask, single malt whisky.

Dalwhinnie Dalwhinnie is not only a beautiful single malt whisky, it is also a beautiful striking distillery, situated high up in the mountains it greets you on your journey to Speyside. Dalwhinnie represents the Highlands in Diageo's Classic Malt series of whiskies. Rarely seen bottled by the independent whisky bottlers, Dalwhinnie is fiercely guarded by its owners.

Deanston Deanston whisky is probably the least known of all Highland whiskies, despite being from the same family as Bunnahabhain and Tobermory. Built in 1965 with production starting in 1966, the 1967 bottle is the oldest expression of Deanston you will find. In fact you won't find many expressions of Deanston, for a great tasting note of Deanston's 17 y.o., you must see Jim Murray's Whisky Bible from 2004!

Dufftown The malt of Dufftown has previously been available both as the Flora & Fauna series and The Rare Malts series, but are now discontinued whisky brands. With one of the largest productions of all Diageo's distilleries, very little of Dufftown goes into single malt bottles, instead about 95% goes into Diageo's blends. Recently relaunched rather confusingly for those who liked Singleton, as The Singleton of Dufftown.