Tamdhu Distillery, Knockando: All Sherry Casks by the Spey

Overview

Tamdhu, on the banks of the Spey at Knockando, is distinctive for maturing its whisky entirely in sherry-seasoned oak casks — giving a rich, warm, sherried single malt. Its handsome old station buildings (it sits on the former Speyside Railway line) make it one of the prettier distilleries in the region.

The history

Tamdhu was built in 1896–97 by a consortium backed by Highland Distillers, at the height of the Victorian boom, and was technically advanced for its day — it long ran a large drum maltings that supplied other distilleries too. After a spell mothballed, it was bought in 2011 by the independent family firm Ian Macleod Distillers, who relaunched it as an all-sherry-cask single malt.

The water & the land

Tamdhu draws on the Tamdhu spring rising beneath the site at Knockando, close to the Spey.

Tamdhu had no founding clan — it was a blenders’ consortium venture. Knockando sat on the Grant/Seafield estate lands of Speyside.

Visiting

Tamdhu is not normally open to the public, though it occasionally runs tours during the annual Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival; check the website. Its sister distillery in the Ian Macleod stable, Glengoyne, is fully open to visitors.

Nearby & more whisky

• Its Knockando neighbour: Cardhu
• Next door on the Spey: Knockando
• The whole picture: Scotch whisky — the full guide

Sources

• Tamdhu distillery — Wikipedia.
• Tamdhu / Ian Macleod Distillers.