28 Whisky Magazine | Issue 167
ounded at Alness, Ross-shire, in 1839
by Alexander Matheson of East Asia
traders Jardine Matheson & Company,
Dalmore Distillery began celebrating
its 180th anniversary late last year
and has been marking the occasion in a
β
ǯ
highly regarded luxury whisky brands.
In November, the company announced
it would release three decanters of The
Dalmore 60 Years Old 180th Anniversary
Edition, which is formed of spirit matured in
β
ͳͻͷͳǤ
β
milestone being marked but because the spirit
ǯ
Ǯ
ǯǡ
ownership that saw The Dalmore brand come
to be recognised across the globe.
The Mackenzie era began following the
ǯ
tenants, the last in a succession of leaseholders
who had all been unsuccessful in their whisky-
making efforts. One Andrew Mackenzie, just 24
years old at the time, took over the tenancy of
ͳ ͅ
production under his management on 28 January
- Thus began the story of The Dalmore single
Ǥ
Joined by his brother Charles, the pair formed
Mackenzie Bros Ltd and, unusually for the time,
Ǯǯ
(single malt), rather than selling the spirit to
blenders as was increasingly becoming the norm.
ǯǡ
Richard Paterson, they also had ambitions to focus
on whisky matured in casks. “What they wanted
to do more than anything was to stop selling new
ǡdz
ǤDz
β
ǡǡǮǯ
ͳͲǡʹͲǡ͵ͲǤǯ
ǯ
before. They were mainly drinking unaged spirit
and maybe some three-year-old.”
The brothers doubled the capacity of the
ͳ ͅͶ
ǡ
ǯǦβ
business connections, allowed them to expand
into the Far East and Australia; in fact, Dalmore
β
ever sold down under. The Mackenzies eventually
took on full ownership of the distillery, its pier and
associated farms in 1891. During this time, they
had been exploring maturation in sherry casks, a
practice that was seen as a key marker of quality at
ǯǤ
ǡͳ ͅ ͅǡβ
their ambition of ceasing sales of new make for
ǡǯ
if this was due to falling demand, the result of a
clear strategy, or because the company simply
had an abundance of aged stock available during a
challenging trading period.
It was around this time that the brothers were
ǡǮǯ
writer and author of the seminal text The Whisky
Distilleries of the United Kingdomȋͳ ͅ ͅȌǡ
describes the distillery set-up in good detail, right
down to the layout of feints receivers and wash
chargers. He explains that the distillery has its
WORDS CHRISTOPHER COATES
The Dalmore is celebrating its 180th anniversary year,
which means there’s been no better time to look back on
the legacy of this Ross-shire distillery
AGED 180 YEARS
028 - 033 - Dalmore-WM 167 .indd 28 09 / 04 / 2020 09 : 05