Whisky by Royal Appointment

When researching Clan Mackenzie, I came across a few interesting points including that my surname Mackechnie is associated with the Mackenzie clan, but I was particularly intrigued to see their association with The Dalmore Distillery. As a keen whisky enthusiast I knew I had to investigate a little further.

In 1263 Colin Fitzgerald of Kintail, Chief of the Clan Mackenzie, saved King Alexander III from the fury of a charging stag while out hunting near Kincardine. In recognition of this act of bravery and sacrifice the King granted Fitzgerald the lands of Kintail in Ross and the right to use the 12 pointed Royal stag emblem on their coat of arms. Fitzgerald then proceeded to found Clan Mackenzie, whose ancestral home became Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich in Kintail.

When descendants of the Clan became owners of The Dalmore distillery in 1867, the Royal Stag became the recognisable icon that is proudly displayed on each bottle of The Dalmore to this day; an emblem which the distillery hopes encapsulates a rich past whilst also embodying a promise that they will remain at the pinnacle of single malt.

The Dalmore distillery is located just north of Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands, in Alness on a stunning stretch of Scottish coastline along the Cromarty Firth. The Cromarty Firth is a beautiful stretch of water, reaching from near Dingwall to the Moray Firth and is home to seals, porpoises and minke whales as well as the occasional mischievous pod of dolphins.

I actually spent a lot of my summers in this area visiting family and exploring the highlands as a child. My mum grew up in the area and went to Nigg primary school before the family moved down to the Borders. My most vivid memories of the area were the huge haunting structures of the moored oil rigs which look eerily like something out of the film adaptation of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds". The oil industry has had a huge impact on the northern side of the Cromarty Firth, and Invergordon and Nigg are just two of the settlements that have developed to service the industry. My great grandfather actually used to design and build rigs which is why Nigg was where the family was settled.

The Dalmore distillery was built in 1839 by Alexander Matheson and leased out to a number of families over the years, however in 1867 the was awarded to 24-year-old Andrew Mackenzie and his younger brother Charles. The brothers took over the distillery on 11th of November and began repairing the stills and building a new filling store.

They developed a range of styles of whisky including a mix of younger whiskies and more mature whiskies aged in Sherry Casks and then, building on the contacts established by Matheson developed an export market.. By the early 1870's they could boast being the first scotch malt whisky imported into Australia and New Zealand. After the third brother William joined them in 1881, they purchased the distillery outright. Andrew Mackenzie was a strong believer that the term ‘whisky’ should apply to malt whiskies only and was heavily opposed to blending, believing that grain whisky was a far inferior product.

The brothers survived the turmoil of both world wars and the loss of the US market due to prohibition and after the Second World War the third generation of the Mackenzie family, Major Hector Mackenzie, was appointed managing director of the company and began a further phase of modernisation.

In 1960 the company finally lost its independence when they merged with Whyte & Mackay Ltd. to form a Dalmore, Whyte & Mackay Ltd. As well as being a major customer of Dalmore, the Whyte and Mackenzie families had been friends for years and this merger gave Whyte & Mackay ownership of a distillery for the first time.

The relationship between The Dalmore and the Mackenzie family didn't stop there though. In 2010 the Dalmore distillery released a 3000 bottle batch of The Mackenzie Dalmore whisky to raise funds to help refurbish and maintain Castle Leod and to support a range of activities organised by The Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland & The UK.

This is an incredibly rare and collectable whisky containing spirit distilled in 1992. It was added to American White Oak Bourbon casks for 11 years and then transferred to fresh Port Pipes for 6 years before being bottled at 46%. (Dalmore are well known for their multi cask maturation) The Earl of Cromartie and chief of the clan, John Mackenzie, said at the time “I am delighted that The Dalmore are supporting the preservation of Castle Leod for not only me, but for the Clan, and for Mackenzies around the world and of course for Scotland”