Arran
The distillery that revived whisky-making on Arran.
Lagg distillery
Islands Single Malt Scotch Whisky
While Arran’s classic whisky style is unpeated, the distillery at Lochranza distils a small amount of peated malt every year for its Machrie Moor expression. In opening Lagg distillery on the south side of the island, Isle of Arran Distillers will shift all production of peated whisky to its new site, a distillery that will be dedicated to the exploration of peat.
Lagg single malt itself will be a heavily peated style, made using barley with a phenol content of 50ppm. While all barley will be malted on the mainland, the peat used to dry the barley will be sourced from all across Scotland, perhaps even the world, as Lagg explores the impact of peat terroir on whisky flavour.
Experimentation won’t stop there – Lagg will work with various yeast strains and barley varieties as it ‘plays around’ with different aspects of the production process. Despite its focus on innovation, Lagg will be a sizeable operation, capable of producing 500,000 litres of spirit each year.
With 140 apple trees already planted on the surrounding estate, Lagg will also produce its own cider and apple brandy, rather than follow the rest of the ‘craft’ Scottish distilling movement and produce gin.
Lagg History
Before Arran distillery commenced production in 1995, there hadn’t been a legal distillery on the Hebridean island since 1837. While Isle of Arran Distillers’ first distillery came to life toward the end of a downturn for the Scotch industry, its second is being realised in a boom period.
In 2017, some 22 years after Arran distillery opened at Lochranza on the north side of the island, groundwork began at Lagg in the south.
Phase one saw the immediate build of three new warehouses to provide maturation facilities for both distilleries, while construction of the new site began in November 2017.
Lagg distillery eventually took its first spirit cut on 19 March 2019 at 14.35pm, and filled its first cask on 10 April, a Sherry butt which will be reserved exclusively for members of the Lagg Cask Society.
Construction is still ongoing at the distillery, and the visitor centre is not expected to open until summer 2019.
Timeline
- 1995 Isle of Arran Distillers open Arran’s first legal distillery in 158 years
- 2017 Construction begins on Lagg distillery on the south side of the island
- 2019 The first spirit runs at Lagg distillery
Lagg Facts
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- Capacity (mlpa) i
- 0.75
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- Condenser Type i
- Shell and tube
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- Fermentation Time i
- 72 hours
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- Filling Strength i
- 63.5%
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- Grist Weight (t) i
- 4 tonnes
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- Heat Source i
- Steam
-
- Malt Specification i
- Concerto barley, 50ppm
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- Malt Supplier i
- Crisp Malt
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- Mash Tun Type i
- Semi-lauter
-
- New-make Strength i
- 68.8%
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- Single Malt Percentage i
- 100%
-
- Spirit Still Charge (l) i
- 7,000
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- Spirit Still Shape i
- Lamp glass
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- Spirit Still Size (l) i
- 7,000
-
- Stills i
- 2
-
- Warehousing i
- Racked and palletised
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- Wash Still Charge (l) i
- 10,000
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- Wash Still Shape i
- Bulbous onion
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- Wash Still Size (l) i
- 10,000
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- Washback Size (l) i
- 20,000
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- Washback Type i
- Douglas fir
-
- Washbacks i
- 4
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- Water Source i
- Borehole
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- Wort Clarity i
- Cloudy
-
- Yeast Type i
- Kerry M strain
Owner
Current owner
Contact
- Address
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Lagg Distillery
Kilmory
Isle of Arran
Argyll and Bute
KA27 8PG
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 (0)1770 830264
- Visitor Opening Hours
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- Monday
- 10am to 6pm
- Tuesday
- 10am to 6pm
- Wednesday
- 10am to 6pm
- Thursday
- 10am to 6pm
- Friday
- 10am to 6pm
- Saturday
- 10am to 6pm
- Sunday
- 10am to 6pm
Map
See also
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Distillery & brand
-
Distiller & blender
Isle of Arran Distillers
Independent distilling operation, with two distilleries, located on the Isle of Arran.
-
Distiller
Isle of Harris Distillers
The holding company created to build and operate Isle of Harris distillery.