Floor Maltings: The Distilleries That Still Do It
Every four hours, day and night, Bowmore’s team returns to turn the barley by hand. Floor malting demands that kind of attention: grain spread out to germinate, turned regularly, then dried in a kiln. It is a working craft, not simply a handsome old building. [12]
Dated accounts record the practice at Springbank, Bowmore, Laphroaig, Highland Park, The Balvenie, Kilchoman, BenRiach and Glen Garioch. Springbank says it malts all its own barley; most distilleries with working floors make only a portion of their malt this way. [1][4][6][7][8][15]
What floor malting involves
The work begins in water. The Scotch Whisky Technical File describes steeping barley for two to three days before spreading it across the floor to germinate; individual distilleries publish their own timings. Most distilleries buy malt from dedicated malting companies equipped to produce it on a larger scale. [1]
The floor and kiln are successive stages, not competing methods: after germination, the grain must be dried. Springbank describes regular turning while the barley is on the floor. That continuing attention distinguishes a working floor from an empty historic malting house. [5]
For the complete sequence, start with how malting works. Here, the focus is on the distilleries retaining the floor itself and the part their published accounts show it plays in production.
How many distilleries still have floor maltings?
The sources assembled here give no verified total for November 2026. Their counts describe different dates and circumstances, so each belongs to its own moment.
| Date | Published count | What the source records |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Five | Historic Environment Scotland called Highland Park one of five distilleries carrying out their own malting. [2] |
| 2017 | About eight or nine | Highland Park brand director Jason Craig’s estimate in a trade interview. [3] |
| 2024 | Eight | BenRiach’s count of Scottish distilleries continuing the practice. [4] |
The clear story is survival: floor malting never disappeared completely. The counts do not establish how much malt each distillery made on site or whether every floor worked throughout the year. BenRiach, for example, describes an annual “Maltings Season”. [4]
A larger owner does not necessarily have working floors. A 2017 trade report said Diageo had none, including at Roseisle. Nor does a pagoda roof mean that malting still happens beneath it: most distilleries buy malt from specialist companies. The pagoda roof article explains the architecture. [1][3]
The distilleries keeping floor malting alive
Springbank: all its barley
Springbank says it is Scotland’s only distillery to malt 100% of its barley by traditional floor methods. It also states that the entire production process is completed on site. That is a much fuller commitment than simply retaining a working malting floor. [8]
The distillery steeps its barley for up to three days, then spreads it in an even layer about 15 cm deep. Regular turning follows. Kilning takes 30 to 48 hours, with peat, hot air or both used according to whether the malt is destined for Springbank, Longrow or Hazelburn. Floor malting does not necessarily mean peat smoking. [5]
Bowmore: turning through the night
Bowmore’s floor sets a rhythm that continues through the night: the team turns the barley by hand at four hour intervals. The distillery describes two furnaces in its kiln, with smoke rising through a mesh floor. [12]
In 2019, Whisky Advocate reported that Bowmore made about one third of its malt requirements, buying the remainder commercially. That share shows the role of its working floor in 2019: part of the malt supply, rather than the source of it all. [11]
Laphroaig: one part of the malt supply
Scarce commercial malt on Islay prompted Ian Hunter to set up a malting floor at Laphroaig in 1927, according to the distillery’s history. Its account also describes his use of peating and cold smoking. [10]
Laphroaig combines its own floor malted barley with malt brought in from elsewhere. Whisky Advocate reported in 2019 that the distillery’s floor supplied 20% of its malt, with the remainder coming from Port Ellen maltings. [11]
The same report gave phenol levels of 50 parts per million for Laphroaig’s own malted barley and 40 parts per million for Port Ellen’s supply. These are figures for malted barley, not phenol measured in the finished whisky, and describe the malt at the time of that report. [11]
Highland Park: floors and kilns together
Two malting barns arranged in a V, square plan double kilns and pagoda roofs: Highland Park’s 1999 Historic Environment Scotland listing records the buildings in detail. It identifies a malting floor, furnaces fed by coke and peat, and perforated metal kiln floors. [2]
A 2021 trade account names Highland Park among the distilleries making a portion of their malt on site. Purchased malt also featured in the production system described by its brand director in a 2017 interview: all its unpeated malt then came from Simpsons Maltings in the Borders. [3][7]
The Balvenie: a portion made on site
Whisky Advocate’s 2021 account names The Balvenie alongside Highland Park and Springbank as using its maltings to make a portion of its malt. Springbank’s own statement gives the more specific position set out above: all its barley is floor malted. For The Balvenie, the account establishes a working floor, without specifying its share of the total malt supply. [7][8]
Kilchoman: malt for the 100% Islay range
Kilchoman built a malt floor and kiln when it was established in 2005, then completed larger replacements in 2018, according to the producer. Its 2024 account describes batches of 2 to 4 tonnes, steeped for two days before spending four to five days on an unheated floor. The barley is turned every two to four hours. [15][16]
The producer then describes 10 to 15 hours of peat smoking, followed by 20 to 30 hours of hot air drying. This malt supplies the 100% Islay range; the account does not establish how much of Kilchoman’s total production is floor malted. [16]
BenRiach: an annual maltings season
At BenRiach, floor malting has its own season. The distillery’s 2024 account says the team hand malts selected barley on site every year during “Maltings Season”. This describes a recurring production activity, not a claim that the floors supply every batch of whisky. [4]
Its published history gives the maltings an even more striking role. While BenRiach’s stills stood silent through a long interruption in distillation, its maltings continued supplying a neighbouring distillery. [17]
Story box: Malt for the neighbour
Founding story: According to BenRiach’s own account, John Duff founded the distillery in 1898. It closed in 1900 following the Pattison crash. [17]
Turning point: BenRiach dates the restart of its stills to 1965; its maltings had continued supplying neighbouring Longmorn, connected by a small train. [17]
Documented record: The producer’s history describes 1900 to 1965 as the period when floor malting secured BenRiach’s future. [17]
Claim: BenRiach’s floor maltings continued supplying Longmorn while its stills were silent from 1900 to 1965.
Verdict: Documented, producer’s account.
Evidence gap: Independent archival corroboration is not supplied in the fact sheet.
Source: BenRiach, Our Heritage, undated. Checked November 2026.
Glen Garioch: floor malting returns
Glen Garioch’s story is one of reinstatement. Its owner announced the reintroduction of floor maltings in March 2022 as part of a renovation. A 2021 trade account reported that the earlier floors had worked until 1994, shortly before a brief closure. [6][7]
The announcement gives no verified proportion of the distillery’s malt made on the floors. [6]
Does floor malting change the whisky?
Highland Park’s Jason Craig said in 2017 that tests showed removing floor malting diminished its character. Ian Macleod Distillers’ Neil Boyd placed the greatest importance on distillation as an influence on spirit quality and character. These opposing producer perspectives frame the debate. [3]
Claim: Floor malting changes the character of the whisky.
Verdict: Disputed.
What the record shows: Craig and Boyd offered different assessments of its importance in the same trade discussion.
Evidence gap: No sensory study establishing either position was available in the checked record.
Source: ScotchWhisky.com, Floor maltings: more than just marketing?, 19 January 2017. Checked November 2026.
Where to go next
- How Malting Works: follow the complete sequence from barley to dried malt.
- How Peat Is Cut and Burned for Malting: examine the fuel used in peat smoking.
- Why Do Scottish Distilleries Have Pagoda Roofs? Charles Doig’s Story: explore the architecture associated with traditional kilns.
Sources
[1] UK Government. Technical File for Scotch Whisky, June 2019.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd36667e90e07662ed92c85/Scotch_Whisky_Technical_File_-_June_2019.pdf
[2] Historic Environment Scotland. Holm Road, The Highland Park Distillery, listing LB45998, Category B, 15 March 1999.
https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB45998
[3] ScotchWhisky.com. Bruce-Gardyne, T. Floor maltings: more than just marketing?, 19 January 2017.
https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/the-debate/12424/floor-maltings-more-than-just-marketing/
[4] BenRiach Distillery. Benriach honours historic craft with Malting Season, 3 January 2024. Producer’s account.
https://www.benriachdistillery.com/blog/benriach-honours-historic-craft-with-malting-season/
[5] Springbank Distillery. Process, undated. Producer’s account.
https://www.springbank.scot/about/process/
[6] Suntory Global Spirits. Glen Garioch’s famous Oldmeldrum distillery reopens to public, 22 March 2022. Producer’s account.
https://www.suntoryglobalspirits.com/news/glen-gariochs-famous-oldmeldrum-distillery-reopens-public-following-beam-suntory-ps6-million
[7] Whisky Advocate. Skiver Barton, S. Why one Scottish distillery is returning to old school production, 22 March 2021.
https://whiskyadvocate.com/why-one-scottish-distillery-is-returning-to-old-school-production/
[8] Springbank Distillery. Distillery, undated. Producer’s account.
https://www.springbank.scot/about/distillery/
[10] Laphroaig. Tales of Fire, undated. Producer’s account.
https://www.laphroaig.com/taste-trailblazers/tales-of-fire
[11] Whisky Advocate. McCormick, J. Meet the People Who Make Peated Whisky Possible, 19 August 2019.
https://www.whiskyadvocate.com/people-make-peated-whisky-possible/
[12] Bowmore. Our Process, undated. Producer’s account.
https://www.bowmore.com/our-process
[15] Kilchoman Distillery. New kiln and malt floor completed, 8 June 2018. Producer’s account.
https://www.kilchomandistillery.com/distillery-news/new-kiln-and-malt-floor-completed/
[16] Kilchoman Distillery. Behind the Scenes at Kilchoman: Malting, 14 March 2024. Producer’s account.
https://www.kilchomandistillery.com/distillery-news/behind-the-scenes-at-kilchoman-malting/
[17] BenRiach Distillery. Our Heritage, undated. Producer’s account.
https://www.benriachdistillery.com/our-history/
This article uses the site’s verified fact sheet, distinguishing producer accounts, trade reporting and historic building documentation.
Last checked: November 2026