Introduction

The Isle of Arran Distillery ranks as one of Scotland’s youngest whisky producers. It is located at the village of Lochranza at the northern end of Arran, about fourteen miles from the principal town (and ferry port) of Brodick.

The Isle of Arran lies off the west coast of Scotland with most visitors travelling via the regular ferry link from the mainland port of Ardrossan, south of Glasgow.

Historically, Isle of Arran had a strong tradition in whisky making but this ended in 1837 although illicit distilling was still active until the 1860s.

New Distillery on Isle of Arran

The inspiration behind the new distillery was the late Harold Currie who had spent a lifetime in the industry. Production began in 1995 and the first whisky produced in 1998.

Here is a video clip of the production facilities, including stills, at Lochranza.

The new distillery (at Lochranza) has proved a success and has attracted new investment consequent on which:

• Capacity has increased to 1.2m litres per annum :
• There are now four stills in total – and a new blending room.
• A second distillery (within the same group) has been established at Lagg in the south of Arran. The new facility houses two new stills, four wooden washbacks, a visitor centre, restaurant and a shop as well as extra warehouses to store casks from both production sites. Output is about 1.0m litres p.a. The new distillery will also be used to meet all of the company’s peated (smoky) spirit requirement.

The core product range consists of maturities comprising 10 years, 14 years, 22 years, Glen Marnoch and various special releases.

Distillery tours are available and there is a restaurant on site.

More information on Scotland

For more information on Scotland’s islands and distilleries (and much more) please refer to Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4