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The first middle cut of spirit was recorded on Tuesday afternoon, with the first cask filled the following day.
The exclusive cask, Cask Number One, a Sherry Butt reserved for members of the Lagg Cask Society, has been filled with a heavily-peated (50ppm) spirit, at a filling strength of 63.5 per cent.
This spirit is expected to mature into the rich, earthy, smoky, Lagg Single Malt which will be very different in character to what the distillers currently produce at their original distillery in Lochranza.
Picture: Isle of Arran Distillers
The plans for the second distillery on Arran were unveiled in 2016 when sle of Arran Distillers were given planning permission to begin the construction of its proposed second distillery on the south side of the island in a bid to expand and accommodate increased production and visitor numbers.
Euan Mitchell, managing director of Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd, added: “Lagg is steeped in the history of whisky making on the island and we intend to uphold that tradition. The area in which we are building our new facility was the location for a 19th Century distillery. It closed in 1837 and prior to our formation in 1995 was the last legal still on Arran.”
Whisky lovers can be part of the exciting story of the Lagg Distillery, by purchasing one of the first casks to be filled at the distillery, and becoming members of the Lagg Cask Society.
Over half of the casks reserved for this offering have now been sold, and with distillation underway, it is expected that each of the 700 casks for the society will soon be filled.
Master distiller, James MacTaggart, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be taking the very first steps in producing what will eventually be a magnificent Lagg whisky and something truly unique to anything we’ve produced previously.”
In terms of site construction, the distillery and visitor centre is now entering its final stages and is on track to open in early summer of this year. Work to the outer structure is now complete, and inside many of the elements of internal design are starting to come together.
It is expected that once open, the Lagg Distillery and Visitor Centre will increase total visitor numbers at both sites to over 200,000 by 2020.
