OUR CRAFT
DUNPHAIL
The Craft Distillery Experience
We are founding Dunphail to shift the perceptions of what Scotch whisky can be – crafting the finest spirits the way they used to be made.
We fundamentally believe that the best whiskies are created from the finest ingredients using traditional processes that put character and flavour ahead of yield.
Our single-minded approach will put these time-honoured processes - on-site floor malting, long-fermentations and direct-fired distillations - at the heart of everything we do – crafting superlative whiskies by hand and by heart.
We have chosen the area south of Forres in Speyside to construct our distillery -operating in a micro-climate that is ideal for maturation and that is surrounded by stunning, tranquil, emotive scenery.
Through our established expertise developing world-class single malt whiskies, and our unwavering commitment to quality, Dunphail Distillery will take the traditions of the past and apply them to shape the whisky of tomorrow.
BARLEY
Our strong commitment to provenance and the highest quality ingredients is borne out through our use of malted barley grown locally on the Altyre Estate.
Altyre, home to Clan Cumming for the last 800 years manages over 4,000 acres of moorland, which includes over 2,000 acres dedicated to arable producing premium quality barley.
The estate will cultivate and supply Dunphail with a 100% Scottish spring barley called ‘Sassy’. This big, bold barley variety – will be processed traditionally at the distillery with milling and hand-malting taking place onsite.
The draff, a high fibre by-product of the whisky making process will be returned to Altyre where it will be used as animal feed.
WATER
We will draw our water from a dedicated onsite borehole – a source high in natural minerals, filtered slowly through layers of ancient psammite sandstone that is rich with quartz, feldspar and mica. This minerality plays an important role in the fermentation process, ensuring both quality and a consistent profile.
MALTING & KILNING
Our world class malting facility will offer sights, experiences, and flavours rarely seen in modern whisky production. And its use is fundamental to shaping the profile of our single malt whisky.
The two-storey building will be constructed and operated the traditional way – with stone floors and the use of old-fashioned drying techniques.
The germinating grains will be turned by hand, twice a day, seven days a week. Unpeated barley will be air dried, whereas peated barley (produced using locally sourced Aberdeenshire peat) will be traditionally kilned using Dunphail’s fully operational old fashion, ventilating pagoda.
These iconic and historic processes not only reflect the heritage of Scotch whisky – they also add significant character to the produced spirit. The finest whisky the way it used to be made.
MILLING, MASHING
AND FERMENTATION
100% of Dunphail’s barley will be milled onsite – to our precise specification. Hand mashing and a gentle, long fermentation will take place in our 4,000 litre self-constructed scottish douglas fir wooden washbacks, which will produce a complex, fruit-forward spirit.
DISTILLATION
WOOD
Distillation will take place in three (two wash, one spirit) 2,200 litre copper pot stills using direct fire – a fundamental process that produces a spirit of great body and depth. The smaller pot design ensures a high volume of copper contact with the resulting ‘reflux’ producing a crisp, clean and refined spirit.
A variety of cask types will be matured in our dunnage warehouse. These will include American oak (Quercus alba) and European oak (Quercus robur) in a number of different sizes and with a wide-range of precursor liquids such as bourbon and sherries.
We will also be work with the locally-based Logie Timber – not only to help us construct the distillery itself, but also to craft casks from Scottish Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) sourced from the forests that surround Dunphail.
BIDING OUR TIME
With an ever-watchful eye, our warehouse team will observe each cask – only ever selecting the finest of our whiskies to bottle and bear the Dunphail name.
Whilst we wait for the fruits of our labours, we will showcase our wider expertise in cask management and blending through the production of independently bottled whiskies sourced from the finest distilleries in the world.