A HISTORIC MORAY DISTILLERY could yet return to production as talks continue between Moray’s MSP and Historic Scotland.
Richard Lochhead has again met with the chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland (HES), Alex Paterson, to discuss the future of the Dallas Dhu distillery.
The MSP has been at the forefront of moves for the site to be transformed into a national centre of excellence for whisky – and at the same time he has pressed for distilling to resume on the historic site.
Talks were positive with HES committing to returning with a plan for the building “by the end of the year”, but Mr Lochhead understands that work is well under way in drawing up proposals for the future – with distilling still very much in the plans.
Welcoming the progress, Moray’s MSP said: “Dallas Dhu is unique in that it is the only historic distillery in the country and it is clear to anyone who has been there that it has a tremendous amount of unfulfilled potential.
“I’ve been calling for agencies involved in the running of Dallas Dhu to put in place a plan that will allow it to meet that potential for quite some time now, and I’m delighted that there now seems to have been some real progress on this.
“With Moray being home to over half of the whisky produced in Scotland it is a no brainer in my mind that we should have a National Centre of Whisky Excellence here, and Dallas Dhu absolutely fits the bill. It would undoubtedly be a massive boost for the Forres area, the local economy and tourism.
“I will be meeting with Historic Environment Scotland again once these proposals are published and I will be pushing them hard to be hugely ambitious in their plans Dallas Dhu.”