Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Interest lodged in revitalising historic Moray distillery

Dallas Dhu Distillery near Rafford, Forres.
Dallas Dhu Distillery near Rafford, Forres.

More than 70 businesses have expressed an interest in breathing new life into a historic Moray distillery.

Dallas Dhu played a pivotal role in the history of the whisky industry in Forres, but was closed in the 1980s and is now a museum enjoyed by hundreds of visitors each year.

However, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has urged interested parties to come forward and help redevelop the site in August with a view to recommencing distilling at the historic site.

Their appeal proved very popular as HES received 74 notes of interest from various parties looking to become involved with the project.

Now, the agency are now working on six different ideas with a preferred option being possibly chosen by the end of January.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead has frequently called for the distillery to be better utilised and welcomed the news that there has been plenty of interest in redeveloping it.

He said: “I’ve been campaigning for many years for new investment in the historic Dallas Dhu Distillery to maximise the potential for tourism and to capitalise on the growing interest in Scotch whisky.

“It is very encouraging to learn that there were 74 notes on interest from various parties looking to be a partner and that Historic Environment Scotland are now working on six different ideas that have now entered what’s referred to as the exploration stage with a preferred option being chosen hopefully by the end of January. This is great news and finally at long last we are seeing progress.”


BLACK FRIDAY OFFER: Two years of unlimited access to The P&J Digital — at better than half price!


Dallas Dhu Distillery has a long and storied history and first begun producing whisky in 1898.

It survived being shut down during the Great Depression, a fire that ravaged the building in 1939 and the Second World War before being closed for a final time in 1983.

This was due to falling demand of whisky, an excess of stock and the unreliability of the water supply there.

The site also lost its distilling license in 1992 after falling into public hands – though it remains owned by drinks giant Diageo.

James Johnstone, chairman of the Malt Whisky Trail, was also pleased to see interest in Dallas Dhu increase.

He said: “Interest in Scotch is booming with recently released figures showing record numbers of visitors, so we welcome proposals to produce whisky at this historic distillery again.

“Dallas Dhu is a popular visitor attraction with a fascinating history.  Looking at opportunities to enhance its unique heritage and story would only increase its interest as one of the nine sites along our trail in stunning Speyside.”