Tamdhu

The very best whisky doesn’t happen by accident. Explore the incredible history of our precious spirit and discover why after over a century, we’re still going strong.

In 1897, a group of like-minded entrepreneurs came together with a shared ambition to create the best whisky in the world. No mean feat. They raised today’s equivalent of £20 million and began to make their vision a reality.

From the very first moments, everyone involved in Tamdhu had the same mind-set – only the best will do. And so it began. The best distillery architect and engineer of the day, Charles C Doig ESQ, was enlisted. The best location by the banks of the River Spey was acquired. The most advanced techniques were chosen. And the best sherry casks from Spain were selected. The stage was set.

In 1949, we began to modernise the original floor maltings and took the innovative decision to introduce Saladin boxes, a French invention that mechanises the barley turning process. No more 'monkey shoulder' for our distillery workers. As production in the distillery steadily increased over the next 15 years, it became necessary to increase the maltings output. At one stage, an impressive 10 Saladin boxes were required.

The popularity of whisky reached record highs in the 1970s and Tamdhu expanded further to meet the growing demand. Four stills were added in as many years, allowing the distillery to increase production considerably without compromising the exceptional quality of our spirit.

However in 2010, outside pressures forced the distillery to close its doors.