Whisky drinkers all over the world know the name Dalwhinnie. A single malt with a flavour which has branded it as one of the best in the world and known as the gentle spirit.  

If you have ever visited the distillery you’ll know that it and the tiny village next to it, are the only signs of life apart from sheep and heather for miles. It is located in one of the most beautiful parts of the Scottish highlands but the summer is full of midgies and winters are pretty bleak with it being one of the coldest places in the British Isles. 

Whisky and particularly Dalwhinnie are a big part of my heritage, giving me celebrity status with friends who are whisky fans! Whisky distilling was the Allan family trade within those two generations with several family members involved.

My Grandpa, James Alexander Macintosh Allan (Jimmy) was distillery manager at Dalwhinnie as was his father, David Allan, before him. My Dad and his siblings spent their early years in Dalwhinnie at the same village school my Grandpa and several of his siblings went to.  My Dad’s family moved around between Dalwhinnie, Balmenach and Ord distilleries as they grew up following a similar path to his own Dad’s family. 

But this is about the career of David Allan, My Great Grandfather.  He was born on 23 May 1888 in Bogbain, Keith, Scotland.  He married Jessie Chisholm in 1914 and they had 10 children including my Grandpa.  My Granny Allan always used to say that Jessie’s family felt she had married beneath herself and the Allans were never allowed in the house.  I guess that’s why David felt he needed to better himself and move up in the world from a farm labourer.  His family had lived in a croft at Bogbain, Keith which had originally been part of the Earl of Seafield’s lands.

When my Granny passed away, in amongst her things was a stationery box that had a fine collection of wedding invitations, receipts and random family photos, plus a few little gems that helped me piece together David’s career including glowing references from Bladnoch Distillery, Glen Grant Glenlivet Distillery and details of his transfer from Auchinblae to Dalwhinnie and his appointment to Distillery Manager at Ord Distillery, along with other family records – birth and death records, marriage certificates and census records.

• 1914 – Farm servant at Bogbain, Keith

  (Source: Marriage certificate of David Allan and Jessie Chisholm)

• 1915 to 1919 – Stillman at Bladnoch Distillery

  (Source: Register of First Son David Roderick’s birth and Reference from distillery)

• 1919 to 1921 – Stillman at Glen Grant Glenlivet Distillery

  (Source: Reference from Distillery)

• 1924 to 1929 – Distillery Manager – Auchinblae Distillery

  (Source: Birth and Death registrations of children and transfer letter from Auchinblae)

• 1929 – Distillery Manager at Dalwhinnie Distillery

  (Source: Transfer letter from Auchinblae)

• 1934 – Distillery Manager at Ord Distillery

  (Source: Appointment letter from Ord Distillery)