Knockdhu Distillery
Knockdhu distillery is situated in the Highlands of Scotland, on the very edge of the Speyside region in a small village called Knock. The distillery itself was founded in 1894 after the discovery of several springs on the nearby Knock hill.
The Knock hill is known to locals as AnCnoc, which comes from the Gaelic for "black hill". Transformed by the weather, the heathers and other vegetation growing on the hill appear black from a distance hence the locals name of the black hill.
When the distillery was opened in 1894 is was seen as a showpiece with two pot stills turning out 2500 gallons of spirit per week. The pot stills are made to the same design today, producing the same spirit that was produced over 100 years ago. In 1989 Knockdhu became the first distillery that Inver House Distillers purchased, thus becoming the dawn of a new era for the company.
As with other distilleries within the Inver House Distillers group the methods of producing the whisky have changed very little since production began all those years ago.
A traditional cast iron mash tun is used in the mashing process. Although not as efficient as its modern counterparts it is similar to what was first used.
Wooden washbacks made from Douglas fir are preferred to modern stainless steel. Again these are less efficient, but are reflected in the character of the finished Scotch Whisky product. There are six in total each fermenting batch sizes of 21500 litres.
The modern condenser is also not apparent on the stills; these are again left as they were with traditional worm tubs. The unique part of the wormtubs at Knockdhu is that both the spirit and wash worm share the same cooling tub.