Isle of Arran Distillers move closer to completion of new distillery as stills arrive 

Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd have edged closer to the completion of their new Lagg Distillery, having recently welcomed the arrival of their new custom-made copper pot stills to the island.

Following their departure from Rothes on the east coast of Scotland, the stills made the ferry journey from Ardrossan to Brodick on Thursday 30th August, before travelling down to the Lagg Distillery site early the following morning.

Master Distiller James MacTaggart, along with Graham Omand, the newly appointed Lagg Distillery Manager, and Faye Waterlow, the Lagg Visitor Centre Manager, were on site to welcome the copper pot stills to their new home, where they will begin the production of the signature Lagg Single Malt in early 2019.

The copper pot stills were manufactured by renowned still-maker, Forsyths. They have been specifically tailored to create a heavily-peated (50ppm) earthy spirit that will become the flagship Lagg Single Malt. It is expected that this spirit, despite being very different in nature, will retain many of the characteristics that are the staple flavours of the celebrated Arran Malt.

The wash still has a capacity of 10,000 litres and the spirit still a capacity of 7,000 litres. The new Lagg stills will allow for a production level within the first year of 200,000 litres of alcohol.

Speaking about the arrival of the stills, James MacTaggart said: “The copper pot stills will now be installed into their new home and complete a commissioning phase. The anticipation of waiting for them and then watching them arrive has created a great buzz on the site and on the island.

“Now the stills are here, it truly feels like the start of an exciting new chapter, not just in the story of whisky production on Arran, but for the island as a whole. I look forward to working closely with Graham to ensure that they get up-and-running and that the spirit produced at Lagg is of the highest quality.”

As well as the arrival of the stills, the three warehouses on site at the Lagg Distillery have been completed and the keys have officially been handed over from the construction team to Isle of Arran Distillers. This allows the team based at Lagg to start preparations to store the casks that will be filled at the new distillery.

When fully operational in 2019 the Lagg Distillery will increase Isle of Arran Distillers production capacity to 2 million litres. Furthermore, the total visitor numbers to both distillery sites is expected to exceed 200,000 by 2020.

To see footage of the stills arriving at Lagg Distillery, and to find out how you can become part of a new island whisky legacy, please click here.

In other news, the Isle of Arran Distillers have launched a search for the official poem of the Lagg Distillery, which will be immortalised at the site.  Budding writers have been tasked with producing a poem that beautifully captures the Isle of Arran’s history, landscape or, quite simply, it’s spirit – whisky or otherwise.

The closing date for entries is Friday 14 December and the winner and two runners up will be announced on Burns Night, Friday 25 January 2019. As well as being immortalised within the Lagg Visitor Centre, the winning entry will be exclusively published in Scottish Field magazine, the official media partner for the competition. The winning poet will also be invited to the official opening of the new Lagg Distillery & Visitor Centre in Spring of next year. The two runners up will receive an exclusive Lagg Distillery goodie bag.

All entries can be submitted to Scottish Field magazine by emailing Kenny Smith at ksmith@scottishfield.co.uk with the subject ‘Isle of Arran Distillers – Poetry Competition’.  Entrants will also need to include in their name, contact information and date of birth as this competition is only open to those over the age of 18.

Poems can also be submitted by post using the following address:

Kenny Smith

Scottish Field

496 Ferry Road,

Edinburgh,

EH5 2DL

Notes:

Accolades for Isle of Arran Distillery include Winner for:

Best New Exporter (2004), Queen’s Award for International Trade (2005), Scottish Distiller of the Year (2007) and Scottish Drinks Producer of the Year (2007) Scottish Field Visitor Experience of the Year 2014 & 2015

Drinks Business Best Contribution to Wine and Spirits Tourism (2017)

Best Brewery/Distillery Tour – Scottish Outdoor Leisure Awards (2017)

Product Awards include:

Arran 10 year -old: San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold Medal (2018). International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold Medal (2018). Category Winner and Gold Medal ‘Best Scotch Under 12 Years’ Islands Non-Islay at the World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018). Ultimate Spirits Challenge 91 points (2018). Ultimate Spirits Challenge Cocktail Commendation for the Rob Roy (2018). Double Gold Medal China Wine & Spirits Best Value Awards (2014)

Arran 18 year-old: International Wine & Spirits Competition Gold Medal (2018) Category Winner & Gold Medal ‘Best Scotch 13-20 Years – Islands (Non- Islay) World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)

Quarter Cask ‘The Bothy’: Category Winner & Gold Medal ‘No Age Statement Single Malt’ for The Bothy Batch 3 World Whiskies Awards (2018). International Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Outstanding Medal (2018). International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)

Arran Lochranza Reserve: International Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Outstanding Medal (2018), International Spirits Challenge Silver Medal (2018)