Euan Mitchell of the Springbank Distillery informs:
"The old buildings of the Glengyle (1919-1925) distillery in Campbeltown
have been bought by the owner of the Springbank Distillery last December.
The Glengyle distillery was once in ownership of the Mitchell "dynasty",
like many other Campbeltown distilleries in the past. These buildings are
next to the Springbank buildings and are in original and good shape. They
will be "furnished" with distilling equipment in the coming years.
Production of Glengyle Single Malt is planned in 2004/2005".
The Glengyle buildings will be "furnished" with a complete distilling line. So Glengyle SM won't be another spirit from the Springbank stills.
In the past there were many plans for starting up the Glengyle production,
but this one seems very serious.
Date 2001.10.30.
New Islay distillery.
If all goes according to plan, Scotland's first new distillery of the 21st
century will be in production by May of next year. First 'legal' drops may
be available three year later, as earliest.
It is to be christened Kilchoman, and will be the most westerly in Britain,
located close to the Atlantic coast of the island of Islay. The micro-distillery
is being developed in a range of former agricultural buildings at Rockside Farm,
and when completed will be the most traditional whisky-making venture in the
country.
According to Operations Consultant John McDougall, formerly manager of Laphroaig
and Springbank distilleries, "Whisky-making really began on farms,of course, and
what we are doing here is taking the art of distilling right back to its roots".
"We will grow our own barley on the farm, then malt it in our own floor maltings.
We will have a live flame for the wash still in order to produce and seal in the
roasted toffee-type historic flavours, having first fermented the wort in traditional
wooden washbacks".
The project, backed by a small group of Scottish-based businessmen with
existing whisky interests, is still in its early stages, but the intentionis to
have the plant up and running in time for an official opening during the Islay
Whisky Festival next spring.
The Kilchoman stills will be designed to produce what John McDougall calls "the
basic Islay style", and various degrees of peating are envisaged. "We will be
able to produce heavy, extra heavy or lightly-peated malt, accordingto our needs",
he says.
Date 2002.02.01.
'New' Islay distillery.
The "NEW" Bruichladdich and peatiness.
Bruichladdich will maintain a serie of three different whiskies in the future. Like
Springbank they will revive names, not styles, of long gone distilleries. Bruichladdich
'proper' will be the least peaty and incapsulate the distillerie’s formula and tradition.
'Port Charlotte', the relatively 'medium' peated will be matured in the Port Charlotte
warehouses and hence be called 'Port Charlotte'. The third one will be s whisky
with a phenol level of 60 ppm!. This one will be called Octomore and will be the heavy-
weight of the three. The old Octomore Distillery resided on the farm adjacent to the old
Lochindaal Distillery warehouses, now owned by Bruichladdich. They are being used to
keep the new Port Charlotte malt. The source of the spring water being used to reduce
the new Bruichladdich malts is on the land of the Octomore farm.
Date 2002.09.27.
New Fife distillery.
A new distillery is planned for Ladybank in Fife. Historic mill buildings are being re-vitalised
in order to create Scotland's latest malt distillery. Ladybank Distillery will malt its own barley
from nearby fields and its spirit production will be the smallest in Scotland. In addition to its
whisky production, Ladybank will be the new home of the Whisky School, currently based at Bladnoch
Distillery.
Date 2002.11.12.
New Shetland distillery.
A northern star is born: Blackwood Distillery
(From Press Release)--Blackwood Distiller Ltd. is pleased to announce one of the most important
new distillery launches in the whisky world in recent years. The last remaining region of Scotland
without a distillery--the Shetland Islands--should have a newly built distillery built in Spring 2003.
HM Customs & Excise approval was granted in September and final financing terms are being agreed for
the end of November. No commercial distillery has ever operated on any of Shetland’s 110 islands
despite having the world’s most ideal conditions for the creation and maturation of premium malt
whisky. This potential will be made real by the team of well-known whisky experts involved as well
as new entrepreneurial blood to the industry.
The distillery plans to have a production of 40,000 cases per annum of premium single malt in both
peated and unpeated versions in a variety of finishes to allow wide consumer choice. It will also
immediately start production of a range of other alcohol products using only natural Shetland
ingredients. The first distillations will be especially reserved for 2000 founding bond holders who,
in thanks for their support, will each receive a case of three year old and case of five year old
on maturity plus a commemorative plaque in the Visitor Centre. This is priced at £560 excluding local
taxes.
Whisky enthusiasts know that the secret of great malt lies in the peat, the water and the climate for
maturation. According to the press release, “Each of these is found at its optimum in Shetland and
combined means the whisky has the potential to be the finest malt in the world. Shetland is famed for
its pristine natural environment and bracing weather. The site chosen is on the main island of Shetland
near the ancient castle of Scalloway. Water comes from a pair of springs that come straight out of the
granite with optimal pH. It then flows over Shetland’s peat, the slowest growing in the world, up to
4000 years old in parts. This creates a naturally lightly peated water, ideal for whisky creation.”
Date 2003.05.11.
New Cornish distillery.
New cornish whisky 'set to rival Scottish brands'
A new malt whisky, claimed to be the first spirit of its kind to be made in Cornwall, could rival the quality of Scottish brands.
The whisky, the result of a joint venture by St Austell Brewery and The Cornish Cyder Farm in Penhallow, has now been sealed in oak casks for maturation.
Roger Ryman, head brewer at St Austell Brewery, says the county's mild, steady climate makes it well-suited to whisky production.
"With Cornwall being a Celtic region we felt it was appropriate that the county had its own whisky as well," he said.
"Our operation down here is tiny but we hope it will be a rival to Scottish producers in terms of quality."
The initial distillation will produce about 1,000 bottles, each of which will be individually numbered and signed by the head brewer when the whisky is ready for release.
But connoisseurs will have to wait at least eight years until the first Cornish whisky is ready to drink.
And Cornwall does not have peat, which creates the distinct flavour of many Scotch whiskies, so the finished product will be more akin to the Irish variety.
Mr Ryman said: "It will be quite a delicate spirit, I expect, with a delicate vanilla note from the wood of the casks."
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Malmoe, Sweden on March 15, 1996
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1996