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Lagg Distillery

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.

  • Owner

    Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd

  • Status

    Operational

  • Country

    Scotland

  • Region

    Highland (Isle of Arran)

  • Production type:

    Single Malt
    Unaged spirits

  • Founded

    2018

  • Production yearly

    1.200.000 Liters

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.

The visitor centre opened in 2009.

In 2022 Lagg distillery released their inaugural releases, containing batch 1,2 and 3. each matured in different casks.

Timeline of Lagg distillery

“It’s every stillman’s dream to be given an opportunity to manage a beautiful site like Lagg, I’m going to make sure it’s a legacy I’ll be proud to say I helped build.”
Graham Omand
Distillery manager

Distillery Facts

Taste profile

 

Medium bodied

Medium in citrus, vanilla, and fruity notes

Medium/ High smoke 

The Inaugural Releases Batch 1

Batch 1 is 100% matured in Bourbon Barrels for 36 months and was produced using Concerto barley and water from our borehole.  We used peat from North East Scotland and the peating level is 50PPM.  It is non chill filtered with no additional colouring and is bottled at 50% abv.  This Batch is a limited release of 10,000 bottles worldwide.

The Inaugural Releases Batch 2

Batch 2 is matured in Bourbon Barrels for 30 months and finished in 55 litre Ex-Oloroso Sherry Casks for 6 months. It was produced using Concerto barley and water from our borehole.  We used peat from North East Scotland and the peating level is 50PPM.  It is non chill filtered with no additional colouring and is bottled at 50% abv.  This Batch is a limited release of 10,000 bottles worldwide.

The Inaugural Releases Batch 3

Batch 3 is matured in Bourbon Barrels for 30 months and transferred into 50 litre Ex-Rioja Red Wine charred casks for 6 months. It was produced using Concerto barley and water from our borehole.  We used peat from North East Scotland and the peating level is 50PPM.  It is non chill filtered with no additional colouring and is bottled at 50% abv.  This Batch is a limited release of 10,000 bottles worldwide.

Distillery Tours

Spend time with one of our expert tour guides who will lead you through a range of four specially selected drams. Gain an insight into Arran’s range of peated whiskies whilst we await the maturation of the very first Lagg Single Malt.

DURATION:

About 1 hour

DRAMS

4 drams

COST

£15 per person
 
Please note tours and tastings on the day cannot be booked online – please phone or email for current availability that day.  For group bookings and all other enquires email us at bookings@laggwhisky.com or call +44 (0) 1770 870565. 

Enjoy a taste of our Lagg New Make Spirit whilst discovering the whisky making history of our island home. The tour then visits our stillhouse, which boasts breath-taking views of Arran’s rolling hills, the Ayrshire coast and Kintyre.

Once you have seen the production process up close, the tour proceeds to one of our tasting rooms. There you will savour a dram of Machrie Moor Fingal’s Cut Quarter Cask then take your very own Lagg glass home as a reminder of your visit.

DURATION:

About 1 hours

COST

£12 per person
 
Please note tours and tastings on the day cannot be booked online – please phone or email for current availability that day.  For group bookings and all other enquires email us at bookings@laggwhisky.com or call +44 (0) 1770 870565. 

Visitor center 

OPENING TIMES

January – December

OPENING TIMES

DayTimes
Monday10:0017:30
Tuesday10:0017:30
Wednesday10:0017:30
Thursday10:0017:30
Friday10:0017:30
Saturday (Apr -Nov)10:0017:30
Sunday (Apr-Nov)10:0016:00

 

CONTACT DETAILS

Lagg Distillery,
Kilmory
Isle of Arran
KA27 8PG
United Kingdom
Lagg social media links

Livingbythedram social media links 

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