The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Farmhouse to be distillery
Materialfrom oldbuildingstobeused
A former Highland farmhouse is being converted into a distillery.
The £15million Ardross Distillery project is now under way in Ross-shire, 30 miles north of Inverness.
The project for Ardross Investments Ltd, being carried out by Morrison Construction, will involve the refurbishment and extension of a dilapidated farm complex on a private 50-acre site that includes Loch Dubh.
Once part of Ardross Mains Farm established in the nineteenth century, the steading buildings, farm house and cottages will be retained for the distillery.
Stone and slate will be salvaged from existing buildings that have collapsed and will be used to rebuild walls and roofs of the development.
Walls at the rear of the main steading will be removed and rebuilt to increase the size of the building for a two-storey still house, tun room, mash house and milling area. This building will surround two large courtyards with parking to the front.
The two detached oneandstorey cottages to each side of the main
“Beginning construction isanexciting time”
steading will become offices and staff accommodation.
An old dairy building behind the staff accommodation will become a blending and product development lab.
A three-storey house at the rear of the site will become a vaulted cask storage area and marketing suite, the boiler house will also be located at the side of this building.
Early next year two large copper stills and other process equipment for the distillery will be transported to the site.
Ardross Distillery will also house a customised gin distillery with the intention of launching its first product on to the market in late 2018.
Donald Mclachlan, Morrison Construction managing director, said: “Beginning construction is an exciting time and we look forward to continuing our work with Ardross Investments on this new distillery in the Highlands.
“We are proud to be working on this development, which reuses existing materials onsite, preserving the character of historic buildings.
“We will continue our engagement with local schools and wider community throughout construction ensuring the development has a lasting positive impact.”
This is the second distillery project that Morrison Construction will work on this year, having previously completed a whisky maturation warehouse at Glenmorangie’s Tain distillery.