Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd has laid the groundwork for a unique Blended Malt by filling casks with new spirit from both their Lagg and Lochranza distilleries.
The independent Scotch whisky company operates two distilleries on the Isle of Arran; Lochranza Distillery in the north and Lagg Distillery in the south.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, both distilleries were forced to close in March this year, but were able to resume production on May 11.
Upon reopening, the first runs of new spirit from each distillery were vatted together, creating a unique mix that combined both heavily-peated and un-peated spirit.
The mixture was decanted into Bourbon barrels, Sherry Hogsheads and Sherry Butts at their Lochranza Distillery, which will now slumber on the island until the future Blended Malt is ready for bottling.
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Thanks to its island location, Isle of Arran Distillers is in the rare position of owning a lowland and a highland distillery both based on one island off the west coast of Scotland. By combining the spirits from the two island distilleries, the final product is “bound to create something very special,” say the distillers.
Director of Operations & Production for Lagg and Lochranza Distilleries, James MacTaggart said: “This is a first for Isle of Arran. We are aware of blended malts where the whisky from one distillery is married with that of another, or blended whiskies created by mixing grain with malt whisky, however this is the first time that we know of malt whisky from two sister distilleries being blended at the spirit stage.
“We felt it was right to join the two sides of our island together and produce a whisky that would always be a marker for this unique period in time.”
Isle of Arran Sales Manager, Andy Bell said: “I am proud to have played a part in creating this truly unique blend, and will follow with interest as these casks mature. The experimentation at the heart of this process speaks to the truly independent nature of our company.”
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