Singleton

The Singleton is a brand of Scottish single malt whisky that belongs to the Diageo portfolio. What makes it interesting is that this name covers three different distilleries – Dufftown, Glen Ord and Glendullan – each of which produces whisky for different markets and with a slightly different style.

The name Singleton first appeared in the 19th century, when the Auchroisk distillery used this name for its whisky. Several decades later, Diageo decided to create a unified brand for several of its distilleries under this name in order to appeal to the widest possible audience.

Today, The Singleton is not a single distillery, but a collective brand umbrella for three producers:
The Singleton of Dufftown (Speyside) – focused on Europe,
The Singleton of Glen Ord (Highlands) – distributed mainly in Asia,
The Singleton of Glendullan (Speyside) – intended mainly for the American market.

With this division, Diageo has managed to build a brand that has global reach while retaining regional nuances and different flavour profiles.

All three distilleries use traditional Scottish single malt production methods – distilling 100 % malted barley in copper pot stills and maturing in oak casks. The differences are in the details:

Dufftown – known for its smooth, malty whiskies with notes of dried fruit and nuts, often matured in sherry casks.
Glen Ord – the whisky has a fuller character, a more oily texture and more spicy notes; it is often matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks.
Glendullan – a lighter, fresher style, with an emphasis on vanilla, citrus and honey, making it more accessible to beginners.

The Singleton brand is known for being built as an “entry level” single malt – a whisky that is also intended to appeal to people who are just starting out in this category. Therefore, the emphasis is on smoothness, sweetness, accessibility and less extreme flavour profiles compared to peaty or intensely oaky whiskies.

The brand's slogan is often associated with the idea that whisky should be shared – Singleton is profiled as a social, not an elitist whisky. Glen Ord is the only distillery within Diageo that still produces its own malt (floor maltings). The Singleton is one of the best-selling single malt whiskies in the world – although many people are unaware of this, as it is divided into three names according to region.

The Singleton is a brand that combines three distilleries and three styles under one name. Its aim is to offer a single malt whisky that is accessible, smooth and suitable for newcomers to the world of whisky. At the same time, it has enough variety to appeal to more advanced enthusiasts – from the malty, light tones of Glendullan to the richer and oilier whisky from Glen Ord.