What Distilleries Actually do their own Malting?

[Pure Pot Head]

Can members of the forum let me know what distilleries out there in Ireland Scotland America or indeed anywhere else still do their own malting at their distillery.

Cheers for any help.

Pure Pot Head

[jazz lover]

Springbank?

[lockejn]

Bowmore does at least some.

[Spirit of Islay]

Laphroaig , Bowmore and Balvenie do a percentage .
Springbank does their lot .

[jmrl]

Highland Park do some and Kilchoman. Copper Fox in Virginia, responsible for the redoubtable Wasmund's Rappahannock too.

[Pure Pot Head]

Thanks guys.

If Bowmore and Laphroaig do 'some' of their own malting, why is it just a percentage - do they specially bottle from the Distillery malted barley or do they just mix it in with malt bought in, in which case, I wonder, what's the point? Perhaps to simply keep the tradition alive? Or is it a side activity for the benfit of visitors perhaps?

You see so many whiskey videos always showing these guys raking the malt and I'd love to know does it really exist anymore anywhere to a significant degree, as in, accounting for all of or most of a distilleries output.

Pure Pot Head

[pkt77242]

PPH, I believe that a fair amount of the Islay distilleries (maybe all of them I don't know) have an agreement to buy malt from the Port Ellen Maltings.

Sean

[lockejn]

Thanks guys.

If Bowmore and Laphroaig do 'some' of their own malting, why is it just a percentage - do they specially bottle from the Distillery malted barley or do they just mix it in with malt bought in, in which case, I wonder, what's the point? Perhaps to simply keep the tradition alive? Or is it a side activity for the benfit of visitors perhaps?
...

I think you've pretty well got it nailed. It might also be used to add a little bit of "signature" essence to the profile.

[photojonny]

Kilchoman will be bottling some spirit purely from their own malted barley. I'm sure I remember them saying that.

[corbuso]

and don't forget highland park too.
Since you are talking about maltings and not malting floors, then you can add Glen Ord, Roseile, and Tamdhu too.

[Pure Pot Head]

So was the original question intended to refer to floor maltimngs, or to any maltings owned by the distillery?

Good question. I hadn't really thought about Distilleries owning maltings off-site. I was thinking in terms of old men in white shirts and trouser braces turning or raking the malt in the distillery like in the old days. And I was wondering where one would go to see that hand smell the air!

Pure Pot Head

[The Third Dram]

I, like many others, am convinced that on-site functioning distillery maltings represent more than mere 'window dressing' (even in those cases where the maltings supply only a proportion of the total requirement).

The combination of locally harvested peat and in-house knowledge of handling said peat in a manner that complements the overall production process cannot help but enhance the final make.

And in those cases where the on-site maltings are utilized exclusively (such as with some of the specialty Bowmore bottlings), "The proof is in the pudding," as they say.

[laphroaig10_65]

I think BenRiach should not be forgotten too.

[jmrl]

Ooh, have they restarted? I hope so. We might want to consider what drams are around now from stills that malted at least some of their own requirement. Glen Dronach for example, Ardmore too?

[corbuso]

Ooh, have they restarted? I hope so. We might want to consider what drams are around now from stills that malted at least some of their own requirement. Glen Dronach for example, Ardmore too?

BenRiach hast stopped malting about 10 years ago but they should resume soon, Glendronach stopped in 1996 and for Ardmore, I don't remember. You might find some information on my "Higland report" to be released quite soon
Corbuso

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http://www.whisky-news.com

[laphroaig10_65]

During Whisky Festival 2007 in Milan I listened to a man of BenRiach's stuff about their own malting. Maybe I misunderstood.

[laphroaig10_65]

staff, sorry.

[Queen of the Hebrides]

Diageo must be about the only business who own their own maltings - at Roseisle, Burghead, Glen Ord and Port Ellen. They produce malt for other 'customers' in addtion to producing for their own requirements. However I imagine they buy malt in from third parties as well. And technically that must make Glen Ord one of the only distilleries that produces all its own malt.