Macduff Distillery is a product of the 1960s. It was built in 1960 by a consortium that included Brodie Hepburn (a Glasgow whisky blender and merchant who held partial ownership in the newly constructed Tullibardine and Deanston distilleries) and operated under the name Glen Deveron Distillers Ltd. The distillery was designed by William Delmé-Evans (see "Tullibardine" and "Jura") and incorporated several features that are now commonplace but were considered novel at the time, such as steam coil indirect heating, shell-and-tube condensers, and stainless steel mash tuns. Glen Deveron Distillers Ltd was sold in 1966 to Block, Grey & Block, who added one still in 1966 and another in 1968, and in 1972 sold it to William Lawson Distillers, a subsidiary of the Italian company Martini & Rossi. The mash house and still room were rebuilt in 1990, when a fifth still was also installed. In 1992, Bacardi acquired Martini & Rossi, William Lawson Ltd, Macduff Distillery and the Glen Deveron brand, and in 1998, after Bacardi purchased John Dewar & Sons from Diageo, all former assets were transferred to that company's name.

Macduff Distillery, located in the town of Macduff, was designed by James Duff, 2nd Earl of Fife, in 1783 near one of the finest ports on the Moray Firth. The town became a major herring fishing port in the 19th century, directly processing and exporting fish products to the Baltic Sea region, creating fierce competition with the Royal Burgh of Banff, located just one mile from the mouth of the River Deveron. In 1889, William Lawson became manager of the Dublin-based wine and spirits merchant E. & J. Burke, selling their Scotch whisky under the Lawson brand. This trademark was acquired by Martini & Rossi in 1963 and modified to avoid confusion with D.C.L.'s Peter Dawson brand. By 1969, all of Martini & Rossi's whiskies were placed under the newly created William Lawson & Co. Ltd. Meanwhile, D.C.L. claimed ownership of the Macduff brand, so the distillery's malt whisky was named Glen Deveron. Stills typically come in pairs, making odd numbers unusual. Only two distilleries are equipped with five stills: Macduff and Talisker. In the mid-1970s, Glen Deveron 5 Year Old was the world's third best-selling malt whisky, thanks to its popularity in Italy and France. In April 2013, Diageo launched three duty-free limited edition Glen Deveron expressions aged 16, 20, and 30 years, called the "Royal Burgh Collection." In 2015, a new core range of 10, 12, and 18 year old whiskies was introduced under the name "The Deveron," featuring maritime-inspired packaging.