A MULTI million-pound renovation of a whisky distillery has been officially opened by a Mercury Prize-nominated jazz musician.
The Caol Ila Distillery on Islay has been transformed into a “world-class” visitor experience after a four-year renovation project.
Mercury Prize-nominated jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie attended the opening and played a piece of music inspired by the distillery’s name.
Caol Ila means Sound of Islay in Gaelic, with the distillery taking its name from the stretch of water between Islay and the neighbouring island of Jura.
The new building offers panoramic views of the water as well as a brand-new bar and retail space.
McCreadie, who is up against the likes of Harry Styles and Sam Fender at this year’s Mercury Prize, said that his music is often influenced by the beauty of Scotland’s islands.
“I’ve spent many wonderful months immersed in this unique island and I’m always inspired by its unique landscape and beauty.
“The craft of distilling whisky plays such an important role in Islay’s story and this new visitor experience brings it to life in a new and exciting way.”
Caol Ila’s parent company Diageo has invested heavily in whisky tourism.
This renovation completes the company’s transformation of its “Four Corners” distilleries, which are recognised as key ingredients in the Johnnie Walker blend and tell the wider origin story of Scotland’s national tipple.
Barbara Smith, managing director of Diageo’s Scotland brand homes, said: “Caol Ila is the last of our reimagined brand homes to be unveiled and it’s truly something special.
"Islay is known around the world for its whisky and we’ve ensured that our visitor experience not only tells the story of the Caol Ila brand but also the major role whisky plays in the island’s history.
"The new building will offer something new and unique to visitors and also to locals who will be able to come for social occasions or just to simply enjoy the stunning views.
"We look forward to welcoming people from near and far now that our doors are officially open.”
A local artist was also given the opportunity to design a special Johnnie Walker Striding Man statue for the new venue.
Rosemary Fletcher and her two daughters, Cairistiona Fletcher and Jessica May Fletcher, were inspired by Islay's dramatic landscapes when creating the statue.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here