FEATURE: DAFTMILL • 17


WORDS: CHARLES MacLEAN


“The obvious place to start is ‘Why Daftmill’?” “It’s like the Electric


Brae in Ayrshire…” I look blank. “…where cars appear to be


drawn uphill by a mysterious force. Here the Daft Burn looks like it’s flowing uphill. It provided the water for the old mill which now houses the distillery’s boiler-house, and the mill gave its name to the farm.” I am talking to Francis Cuthbert, whose family have farmed the land hereabouts for six generations and who, with his brother Ian, established Daftmill Distillery in 2005. Currently the smallest distilery in Scotland – although it is capable of producing 60,000 litres of spirit per annum, it is currently operating at between 12 and 18,000 litres – it is also among the most attractive. The buildings form three sides


of a square, with the mill on one side (now the boiler-house), a former grain barn opposite (now a maturation warehouse) and the glass-fronted still-house (formerly an open store for hay bales) joining the two. “The mill dates from the


late 17th Century, although it bears the date 1809 above the door. It is listed by Historic Scotland and when we began refurbishing they insisted that the Celtic cross on the gable end be re-instated as being part of the original structure. In fact, it was only put up there in the 1950s, although it is quite old…


CONTINUED OVERLEAF THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY


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