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New scotch distilleries opening soon

2 16

Wierdo started a discussion

More than 30 planned apparently

scotchwhisky.com/magazine/features/…

I'm very excited by Lagg distillery which is a distillery run by Arran producing peated whisky. That could be very good.

5 years ago

16 replies

@cricklewood
cricklewood replied

@Wierdo a lot of money being thrown around, I wonder how the state of the market will be in 10 or 15 years time and if all of these distilleries will make it to that period of time. Many distilleries are already talking about how their unknown 3-4 yr old whisky is "super premium"...oh brother.

I think the most interesting new Scottish distilleries will be the ones run by the old family indie bottlers, the Dornoch distillery should be interesting to see grow. Like you I am also looking forward to Lagg, the team at Arran know what they are doing, it isn't a new venture so they should be running smoothly not long after most of the kinks are ironed out. I also think splitting the peated production is smart they will be able to dedicate more time to perfect their peated range.

5 years ago 4Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

I'm kind of intrigued by the reopening of the mothballed distilleries Brora, Port Ellen and Rosebank. They have achieved almost mythical status amongst scotch fans. No doubt when they do start producing spirit it will be stupid expensive.

But the one thing I keep thinking is 'if they were so amazing, why did they shut?' They obviously weren't making a profit. More hype than substance I think.

5 years ago 4Who liked this?

@nooch
nooch replied

I’m interested in Ballindalloch - it’s a family estate distillery in speyside that has been operating for 4 years (almost) but hasn’t released anything and won’t until the stock is ready. It’s a single estate distillery too, meaning everything for the whisky comes from the land around it. They won’t release anything until it’s at least 8 years old. That’s some patient money. It’s small, so I have no idea how available their whisky will be over here when it is ready. If you do a tour of it now you get a sense of it and then try whisky from the private family stocks - which ranges as old as 35yo. The whole thing seems intent on making a quality dram.

5 years ago 5Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

I suppose one good thing is that we are currently in a situation where demand for whisky outstrips supply. More distilleries opening potentially evens that out somewhat (I say potentially!)

5 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

Not recent news but I will be interested to follow ARDNAHOE DISTILLERY. With Jim McEwan as production director and supervising the selection of Bourbon barrels, it should be interesting.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

Yeah the new Arran distillery stands out as do any of those backed/owned by independent bottlers. I also think Arran will benefit from the split and hopefully their peated stuff will develop positively. Be interesting to see if they source peat from Arran itself (do they now? I can't remember). I get the sense that a lot of IBs have looked at the Benromach model and see that as the way to go.

@cricklewood - Will the whisky industry still be this strong in 10 - 15 years? History possibly suggests not, but who knows. Fashion and trends change like the wind and if the prices don't settle, or better yet, come down a tad, I really can't see the average Joe becoming as enamored as us 'enthusiasts'. I'd expect a downward curve to be honest and think a lot of the new boys may have arrived a little too late. A lot of it stinks of 'cashing in'.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@RianC My hope is that it will not be as strong as now. That way, we may see another time when young whisky will be enhanced by old ones and these old ones being sold at bargain prices. I'm a dreamer. pensive

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Robert99 - To dream is to believe smiley

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@RianC @Robert99 I suspect that if demand increases much more, prices will continue to rise proportionately resulting in an inversely proportional drop in quality of anything in the affordable range. Not a happy prospect for us mere mortals.

5 years ago 3Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

@BlueNote whilst I agree that prices may well continue to rise. I think it's quite plausible that we reach a saturation point with whisky on the market. It's not just all these new distilleries starting up. It's in whisky news all the time that a distillery has expanded, increased production etc. They're essentially all looking at the market, at how much whisky they've sold and trying to work out if they produced more whisky how much more they could sell, how much their profits will increase. But are they taking into account that everyone else is doing the same? That their are new distilleries opening every month? I doubt it. And they're trying to calculate today how much whisky they think they can sell in 10, 12, 15, 18 years plus. That's extraordinarily difficult to do.

Remember also a lot of what is driving prices up is speculator and investment funds that don't care at all about whisky. If something comes along tomorrow that is a better investment than whisky they'll all start hoovering that up instead.

I think it's quite possible that at some point in the future the bubble will burst and a lot of distilleries will find they made too much whisky 10 years ago and can't sell it all and prices will drop again and distilleries will shut.

5 years ago 3Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

@BlueNote yep. But most likely just wishful thinking on my part and in truth you are probably closer to the mark with prices just continuing to rise.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

Laggy distillery begins production this spring

instagram.com/laggwhisky/…

I'll look forward to some great whisky in 10 years or so!

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Wierdo Looks like they might be going for a bit of the new Macallan look.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@Wierdo re: mothballed distilleries being "re-born"

Rosebank will not be the same at all. It is Rosebank in name only. All the old equipment is gone. Not sure about the others. Besides, the first releases from Port Ellen and Brora will undoubtedly be absurdly-priced NAS releases pitched as a "mix of old and new" (think names like Resurrection or Renaissance or The Return or Renovatio or Metamorphosis) with 3-5 year old whisky comprising > 90% of the mix. Just my 2 cents.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

@BlueNote hopefully not the Macallan marketing and commitment to producing sensibly priced quality whisky (Or lack of)

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

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