Think of the quintessential image of a scotch whisky distillery, and likely it includes a pagoda roof rising above a cluster of stone buildings. This architectural feature of the kiln chimney is a signature of scotch whisky distilling. Its design was the work of architect Charles Doig (1855–1918), whose success with the Doig Ventilator—the proper name for these pagodas—led to its introduction at 56 distilleries.
Doig’s first such ventilator was designed for Dailuaine Distillery in 1889, and while the original was destroyed by fire in 1917, many other examples can be spotted around Scotland today. The purpose is to draw hot air up through the kiln from the furnace to dry the green malt, stopping germination and completing the malting process. This will also flavor the malt if the furnace is burning peat, but not all floor maltings are synonymous with peated malt.
Some argue that the term cupola is more accurate than pagoda. A cupola is a structural projection designed to provide ventilation and, in some cases, light, whereas a pagoda is a tower of many tiers. Aside from its aesthetic appeal, the structure helps shield a building’s supporting beams from monsoon rains. In Doig’s design, it helps keep the Scottish rain off the malted barley on the kiln floor better than an open chimney. Thus Doig’s ventilator is a cupola with a pagoda roof—and to scotch whisky lovers, the crowning glory on our temples of the malt.
The Doig Ventilator
The warm air or peat smoke rises up into the narrowing roof space, escaping through the cupola’s vents, which are like the slatted panels of a venetian blind.
The Furnace
At the start of kilning, a fire is lit in the furnace and kept going for many hours, sometimes days at a time. Peat is burned to add flavor by its smoke enveloping the moist grains. Alternatively, burning flavorless fuels, like coal, simply dries the malt.
The Wind
Weather conditions affect the draw of the smoke through the Doig ventilator. At exposed Scottish island distilleries, a very windy day will increase the draw of peat smoke through the kiln.
The Kiln Floor
Germinating barley is spread around 18 inches deep on the perforated mesh floor. Some kilns, such as the one at Balvenie Distillery, have mechanical malt turning apparatuses that plow through the malt bed during kilning to ensure a more consistent drying process and even level of moisture in the malt. If turning the malt is done by hand, like at Springbank, then respirators must be worn.
Pagoda FAQs
What distilleries have a working pagoda roof?
Scotch whisky distilleries with operational floor maltings: Balvenie, Bowmore, Highland Park, Laphroaig, Springbank, Ardnamurchan, Benriach, Dunphail, Glen Garioch, and Kilchoman keep the practice alive.
Do other distilleries have pagoda roofs, even if they no longer do floor malting?
Yes, these structures can be seen across Scotland at around 40 other distilleries. Some of the finest examples are located at Ardbeg, Cardhu, Dalwhinnie, Knockdhu, Strathisla, and Speyburn.
Do architects still add purely decorative pagoda roofs to new scotch whisky distilleries?
Yes, especially distilleries built with visitors in mind, even with no plan to dry malt on-site. Examples include Ardnahoe, Arran, Falkirk, and Torabhaig.
Are they built at distilleries outside of Scotland?
While peated malts are closely associated with scotch, distillers around the world have built this feature into their distillery designs. Examples include Finger Lakes Distilling in New York, Glenora in Nova Scotia, Canada, the modern Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery in County Offaly, Ireland, Kavalan in Taiwan, Chichibu in Japan, and Dartmoor Distillery in Devon, England. When Dartmoor Distillery was in the planning stages, townspeople objected to the plan to include a pagoda roof because it was too Scottish, saying that it was "not in keeping with the local area". In the end, Dartmoor got its pagoda roof.
Is it essential for floor malting?
No, Denmark’s Stauning Distillery designed a floor malting operation without a Doig-style pagoda roof. They steep, malt, and dry the grains on the malting floor, while their kiln is located in the yard outside, adjacent to the malting barn.
Why aren’t there more pagoda roofs in U.S. distilleries?
In Scotland, single malt scotch is made from 100% malted barley, but in the U.S. much smaller proportions of malted barley are needed as distillers use unmalted corn and grains like rye or wheat. Even the malted grains used to make American whiskey are usually unpeated, and distillers are mostly sourcing their malt from commercial maltsters rather than making their own.
