Loch Lomond distillery
| Region: Highland | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Loch Lomond Distillery Company |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Status | Active |
| Number of stills | 1 wash still, 1 spirit still, 4 Lomond stills |
| Capacity | 4,000,000 litres |
The Loch Lomond distillery is a Highland Single Malt Scotch whisky distillery in Alexandria, Scotland, near Loch Lomond.[1]
History
Loch Lomond marks the boundary between the Lowlands and the Highlands of Scotland. This area - so close to the major bottling town of Dumbarton - has been at the heart of the whisky industry for centuries. Sadly though, at least nine distilleries around the Loch have been lost over the years, leaving Loch Lomond Distillers to maintain a proud local tradition into the 21st century.
The first site of the former Loch Lomond Distillery dates back to 1814, sited at the North end of Loch Lomond's Tarbet (known as Tarbat). Sadly in these days, relatively few paper records were kept and the closing date of this distillery remains unclear.
The current Loch Lomond Distillery was founded in 1964 by the former owners of the Littlemill Distillery, in Bowling, a few miles up the road towards Glasgow. Production began in Loch Lomond the following year in 1965. In 1984 the distillery closed - or fell silent, to use the traditional term. Happily though, Alexander Bulloch and the Glen Catrine company acquired the business and resumed malt production in 1987. Grain whisky production began in 1993 and two new malt stills were added in 1999. At the time the Grain distillery opened in 1994, it was the only distillery in Scotland producing both Grain and Malt whisky. It also operates a unique set-up of three sets of stills.
Products
The Loch Lomond range includes Malt & Premium Blended Scotch Whiskies:
- Loch Lomond Original -Single Malt Whisky (40% ABV)
- Loch Lomond Reserve - Premium Blended Scotch Whisky (40% ABV)
- Loch Lomond Signature - Deluxe Blended Scotch Whisky (40% ABV)
Loch Lomond Distillery also produces The Inchmurrin Island Collection:
- Inchmurrin 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (46% ABV)
- Inchmurrin 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (46% ABV)
- Inchmurrin Madeira Wood Finish Single malt Scotch Whisky (46% ABV)
The enchanting Isle of Inchmurrin is the largest of Loch Lomond's islands and lends its name to three distinctive whiskies in the Island Collection. Each unique, but all sharing the characteristics that make this range beautifully different.
Equipment
It was the former owner of Littlemill Distillery, Duncan Barton, who developed the current site for the Loch Lomond Distillery. He transferred the innovation of whisky stills that could produce different styles of whisky into the design of the Loch Lomond stills. The uniqueness of these pot malt stills rest in the cylindrical necks of the spirit stills. Traditionally the necks of malt stills are open. The Loch Lomond stills include special distillation trays in the necks, allowing for greater contact with the cooling alcohol vapour. This makes the process more efficient. These stills can produce alcohol up to 90% ABV where normal stills deliver the alcohol at around 70% ABV. This style of still allows for different ‘ flavour notes’ to be captured and emphasised through the range of alcohol strengths that can be captured and rejected. This is much more difficult to achieve through a conventional pot still.
The Loch Lomond Cooperage was opened in 1994. The senior cooper was Tommy Wallace, who subsequently progressed on to become the President of the National Cooperage Federation between 2006-2008. Loch Lomond employs 5 full-time experienced coopers with many years experience working for the company. Loch Lomond is one of only 4 distilleries in Scotland that has their cooperage on site. During the downturn in Scotch Whisky sales around the millennium, the number of fully skilled coopers in Scotland fell to around 250. Since this time, the industry has been actively training new apprentices and there are now over 300 skilled coopers in the country. Learning the craft is a long apprenticeship. Each new cooper spends 4 years learning the craft before becoming a fully-fledged cooper.
The apprentices at Loch Lomond are trained on site in the art of coopering the barrels using hand tools. Loch Lomond endeavours to maintain these skills to ensure their craft and knowledge are passed down to the next generation. In a typical year around 10,000 barrels require major repairs to replace some wooden staves and barrel ends. And around 10,000 need re-charred in order to bring back the character to the wood before refilling with new fill whisky. Innovation has always been at the heart of the Loch Lomond Distillery and they were one of the first distilleries to introduce a re-char machine.
Investment
Loch Lomond recently invested £15 million in brand new stills, and can make fine single malt and some of the best single grain whisky in Scotland on the same premises. Our bottling plant at Glen Catrine in Ayrshire is one of the biggest and most efficient in Scotland, and currently produces more than 65 million bottles of whisky and other spirits each year.
Fictional depiction
Loch Lomond is the brand name of the Scotch whisky consumed by Captain Haddock in Hergé's famous comic book series The Adventures of Tintin.
References
External links
Coordinates: 55°59′39.46″N 4°34′38.24″W / 55.9942944°N 4.5772889°W
