Another milestone at Lagg

Isle of Arran Distillers, owner of the Lagg Distillery in Kilmory, can add the arrival of its custom made pot stills to its rapidly growing list of milestones reached towards completing its new £10 million distillery.

With the external structure completed, the floors laid and the roof almost complete, the building is rapidly taking shape with exterior walls and internal structures well on their way towards being completed.

Windows are also starting to be added to the building signifying a move towards the second fix stage of construction where the building can be made watertight and internal works can get underway. Welcomed

As reported recently in the Banner, the copper pot stills have arrived on Arran and were transported to the site where master distiller James MacTaggart, distillery manager Graham Omand and visitor centre manager Faye Waterlow welcomed their arrival. They will be able to produce 200,000 litres of alcohol within the first year.

The two stills are custom made and designed to produce a heavier, earthier spirit that will form the nature of the peated alcohol which is expected to retain the staple flavours of an Arran-produced malt.

The stills were produced by world-renowned still maker Forsyths Ltd which is based in Moray. The wash still has a capacity of 10,000 litres and the spirit still a capacity of 7,000 litres. Milestone

In addition to the arrival of the stills a further milestone has been reached with the completion of the three Lagg warehouses which will allow for the initial and ongoing storage of casks.

A distillers spokeswoman said: ‘Milestones such as these serve to remind us that we are on the right tracks and that our Lagg Distillery really is coming to life more and more each day. As a team, we are more excited than ever at the opportunities which our new distillery affords and we look forward to the day we can invite you all to join us for a dram at our new Lagg Distillery and Visitor Centre.’

The Lagg Distillery and Visitor Centre is expected to open next spring with the first casks being filled in the first quarter of 2019.

The large copper pot stills arrive on site at the new Lagg Distillery. Inset: A number of windows can already be seen during the construction of the Lagg Distillery in Kilmory.

Master Distiller James MacTaggart and colleagues were on site to welcome the stills which will now be installed in preparation for a commissioning phase.