Planning permission granted for Machrihanish Distillery in Campbeltown region

One of the planned new distilleries for the Campbeltown area has been given the go-ahead.

R&B Distillers has secured planning permission from Argyll and Bute Council for its Machrihanish Distillery, the first farm-to-bottle distillery in Campbeltown in over 180 years. R&B - who also own the award winning Raasay distillery - purchased the Dhurrie Farm in Machrihanish in 2021. Now the plans have been given the green light for the distillery development, which will start with whisky production, followed by a full visitor experience, shop, and tasting room. Construction on the site will begin next year.

R&B plans to develop a sustainable net zero distilling model that removes any fossil fuel use from the whisky distilling process, using regenerative, environmentally friendly farming practices and creating greater biodiversity in the surrounding area. Up to 20 new jobs will be created in the region over time.

William Dobbie, Managing Director of R&B Distillers, said: “The rubber stamp for the distillery marks a major milestone on our journey in Campbeltown. When the whisky becomes of age our investment will go beyond production, attracting visitors to the region and supporting the local economy in a similar way to our existing distillery on Raasay. We are excited to be making this investment in Campbeltown and supporting the local economy through jobs and visitors. This milestone has particular significance to our family as my father Bill’s family come from Drumlemble, a small village in between Machrihanish and Campbeltown. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us get to this stage - including Argyll and Bute Council, neighbouring whisky producers Glen Scotia and J&A Mitchell, and most importantly our customers and partners for continuing to support R&B and our brands.”

Left to right are David Nicol (Co-founder, Caskshare), Norman Gillies (Operations Director, R&B Distillers), William Dobbie (Managing Director, R&B Distillers), and Alasdair Day (Co-founder & Master Distiller)

This news comes at the same time as R&B have announced that they have acquired a controlling stake in Caskshare.com, an eCommerce platform and bottler of single cask spirits. A move that Dobbie described as putting the business on a “clear track towards achieving our vision of becoming the leading new wave spirits business in Scotland.” Caskshare specialises in offering whisky fans single cask whiskies by the bottle, including Scotch whiskies, and enables producers to sell directly to consumers worldwide.