Scottish whisky: Dal Riata plans submitted and new Lochlea whisky out next month

It’s an exciting time in whisky, with a plethora of new distilleries on the cards.

On one of the latest Scran podcasts, I spoke to industry insiders and experts about the renaissance in Campbeltown as two new distilleries look to be coming to the town.

One of these, Dal Riata, has submitted a planning application to Argyll and Bute Council for permission to build a new whisky distillery on the banks of Campbeltown Loch. The application is for a mixed use development comprising a distillery, visitor centre, shop and self-catering apartments.

The owners are keen to pay homage to the history of Campbeltown by incorporating a museum within the visitor centre dedicated to the history of whisky distillation within the town. There are also plans to develop the visitor centre to be a venue to hire for events and the business hopes to create jobs for about 20 people.

Plans for a new Dál Riata distillery in Campbeltown were announced in February

A spokesperson for the distillery said: “The dilapidated warehouses currently on the site are to be renovated and converted into self-catering apartments, which will sleep up to ten people and offer views over the distillery and across the loch. The current vacant shop on Longrow adjoining the site will be developed into a visitor centre and conference/tasting room.”

Another new distillery, which has planning permission and is set to open next year, is Ardgowan. The building, which is located near Glasgow, is designed to provide an ergonomic energy efficient distillery and to maximise the visitor experience and will incorporate a glass-walled ‘sky platform’ with views of the Clyde.

The company has already pledged their new distillery will be carbon negative and are working with specialist distillery engineers Briggs of Burton to ensure the flagship building has the latest innovations in energy reduction, heat recovery and carbon capture.

This week also saw Lochlea announce they would release their Harvest Edition, the second in an annual series of four seasonal small batch bottlings. Their first seasonal edition was released in spring and was named the Sowing Edition. Each expression will link to what is happening on site at that time of year, through the casks selected, flavour profile and even packaging.