Whisky Guide > Distillery Profiles > Miltonduff Distillery

Miltonduff - Whisky and the Monks

Situated six miles southwest of Elgin is Pluscarden Abbey (pictured top right). Initially a Priory it was founded by King Alexander II in 1230. In 1454 it absorbed the old Benedictine Priory of Urquhart, only to fall into disuse at the Reformation. Almost 400 years later it was given to the Benedictine Community of Prinknash by Lord Colum Crichton Stuart. The Community was able to take up residence in 1948, with restoration work still on going. In 1974 Pluscarden was elevated to the status of an abbey.

During the nineteenth century there were in excess of fifty illicit stills operating in the Pluscarden area. This was due both to the abundant supplies of water and to the fertile land in the glen, which produced ample barley. Miltonduff Distillery is said to be situated on the site of the Abbey's meal mill, two miles from the Abbey. A stone from the original Abbey is retained by the distillery. The distillery's water source is the Black Burn, which is fed by springs rising by the Abbey. There is no such reciprocation of the Abbey being fed by Miltonduff Single Malt Whisky.