The Malt Distillers’ Association of Scotland (MDAS) is the oldest active trade association in the Scotch Whisky Industry, having been originally formed under the name of ‘The North of Scotland Malt Distillers’ Association’ at a meeting of Distillers held in the Gordon Arms Hotel, Elgin, on 20 January 1874. The original objects of the Association were stated to be ‘to increase the friendly interchange of ideas amongst themselves, the removal of all obstructions to the proper carrying on of their business not only as regards improvement in the Excise Laws, but also for the making of new arrangements as to the customs of sales which would put both buyer and seller on a more equitable footing and ensure a uniformity of practice’.
The name of the Association was changed to ‘The Pot Still Malt Distillers’ Association of Scotland’ on 25 September 1925 and, on 1 October 1971, the name, in turn, became ‘The Malt Distillers’ Association of Scotland’. In the intervening 150 years since its inception, the association has therefore moved with the times to ensure that it was still relevant to its membership and to support the Scottish distilling industry. I am delighted to say that as we celebrate the MDAS’s sesquicentenary, the association continues to be in rude health and this year saw the addition of a further two working groups to the existing four core working groups.
In essence, MDAS is primarily focused on developing the workforce of the future, supporting the sharing of best practice across the industry, and supporting the education of all employees in the industry, irrespective of employer, as our industry tackles the challenges of Sustainability, Climate Change and Regulatory Compliance. At an association level, it is fairly informal, and can provide practical, pragmatic and un-biased support to its members.
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our annual AGM and Dinner on Friday, November 8th – stay tuned for more details! 🥃
A huge thank you to Kirstie Eunson (Diageo) for getting this LinkedIn page up and running and it would be great if you could all follow the MDAS site and circulate it out across the wider malt distilling fraternity!
Alistair Longwell
MDAS President
#Scotch #MaltWhisky #MDAS
