The Singleton Distilleries
Discover The Singleton’s three distilleries of Dufftown, Glen Ord and Glendullan, home to their award-winning Single Malt Scotch Whiskies.
THE HIGHLANDS IS HOME
The Highlands are home to The Singleton and each of its distilleries: Dufftown, Glen Ord and Glendullan. The Singleton has been there since 1896, producing Single Malt in the traditional way by sight, smell and sound.
The Highlands take up most of Scotland and are a geographical marvel - a magical land where enormous glens and mountains meet vast lochs and some of the best driving routes.
Each of The Singleton Single Malt distilleries is unique but they also have similarities, including a process honed over hundreds of years of practise and barley which is treated in the same way through time honoured craft passed down the generations.
WHY DOES THE SINGLETON HAVE THREE DISTILLERIES?
The Singleton is unique in Single Malt Whisky as it has not one but three homes for its Single Malt. At each distillery, they follow the same ethos the whole way through the distillery to follow our slow craft philosophy, long fermentation, slow batch distillation and lengthy maturation in a mixture of American and European oak.
The difference in each distillery is the balance in wood. Think of them on a sliding scale: Glen Ord is heavy in European oak with a touch or American oak; Dufftown is the perfect balance of both oaks; Glendullan is heavy in American oak with a touch of European oak. In flavour terms, Dufftown is like biting into a fresh apple, Glendullan, you take that apple and bake it into a pie – with its sweet and dried fruit, and Glen Ord the apple is actually a pineapple and filled with tropical fruit.
WHERE TRADITION MEETS MODERNISM
The Singleton will take traditions and innovate and modernize. This is evidenced in its production of a lighter style of Single Malt, a world away from the smoky whiskies from the west coast or Islay that everyone associates with Single Malts.
The Singleton also has one of the most technologically advanced condensers in the industry, which is a huge evolvement of the kit they had back in 1838. It defies all logic by using heat to condense the vapours back into a liquid. This takes far longer than the more traditional methods and requires a lot of patience and skill, but the results are well worth the effort as it allows for a huge amount of copper contact which helps to soften and smooth the spirit.
Scotch Tapes: The Singleton Distillery Process
Join Ervin Trykowski, Diageo's Scotch Whisky Ambassador, in this episode of Scotch Tapes, as he visits Muir of Ord in the Highlands of Scotland to explore The Singleton Distillery.
Discover and learn more on:
Fermentation [01:53] – Learn more about this important stage of the whisky making process where all the alcohol is made. It is the first step where the distiller can have a significant impact on the flavour of the end product, by manipulating the parameters of fermentation. At The Singleton, the belief is you can’t rush perfection with fermentation set at a weighty 75 hours, longer than average, yet producing intensely fruity & floral flavours and aromas that form the foundations of its signature style.
Slow Batch Distillation [03:40] - Find out about The Singleton’s innovative method of slow distillation, where they heat the stills at a very low temperature which promotes delicate, fresh flavours to reach the final spirit.
Maturation [5:05] – The Singleton uses one of the most rich and diverse collections of cask types for whiskies. Watch Ervin take you through the unique expressions and use of casks.