Dalmunach Distillery

The Imperial Distillery operated on the Carron site from 1897, spending the bulk of its working life supplying malt for Teacher's, Ballantine's, and Old Smuggler blends. Imperial had a turbulent history — it was mothballed several times and finally ceased production in 1998 before being briefly revived in 2013, only to be permanently closed again to make way for the new build. The decision to demolish Imperial and replace it with Dalmunach was taken by Chivas Brothers, who wanted a modern, energy-efficient distillery at the strategically important Carron site.

Construction began in 2012. The architectural commission was given careful thought: the resulting building, shaped like a sheaf of barley, with its distinctive circular still room and glass curtain walls, was designed to honour the landscape and the grain at the heart of Scotch whisky production. The onion-shaped spirit stills are a deliberate echo of Imperial's former stills, maintaining a physical link to the site's history. The distillery was completed in 2014 and officially opened by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2015, winning the RIBA Award for Scotland the same year. The location at Carron has hosted continuous distilling since 1897 — over a century of unbroken production.

Early single malt bottlings from Dalmunach began to appear from 2019, but the vast majority of production continues to supply Chivas Brothers' blending requirements.

Dalmunach is equipped with eight pot stills: four wash stills and four spirit stills. The spirit stills have an onion shape, a deliberate reference to the former Imperial Distillery stills. The distillery features sixteen stainless steel washbacks and a 12-tonne Briggs mash tun. Total capacity is 10 million litres of pure alcohol per year — one of the largest in Speyside. Dalmunach was designed with sustainability at its core, incorporating renewable energy sources and heat recovery technology throughout.

Dalmunach produces a light, clean, fruity Speyside-style spirit well suited to blending. The clean lines of the modern stills and the efficient production setup produce a spirit without the sulphurous or heavy notes found in more traditional distilleries. The few independent single malt bottlings that have appeared since 2019 show a fresh, approachable character — classic light Speyside with orchard fruit, vanilla, and soft cereal notes. As a blending distillery, the house style is deliberately neutral and versatile.

Dalmunach is not open to visitors. The distillery has no official public website, no visitor centre, and no on-site retail. Visitors to the Speyside region interested in Chivas Brothers distilleries are directed to Strathisla Distillery, the spiritual home of Chivas Regal, which operates a full visitor experience.