The former whisky capital is getting its first new distillery in over a century. Get ready for more Campbeltown whisky, folks!
Campbeltown – once seen as the world capital of the industry and the home to more than 30 distilleries – hasn’t had a new distillery in more than 180 years. But all that’s about to change as plans to build the first new distillery there in more than a century have been submitted.
R&B Distillers is making us feel truly alive on a Monday morning (hallelujah!) by announcing its attention to add some Campbeltown character to its portfolio by purchasing Dhurrie Farm on the Kintyre peninsula for the purposes of making lovely whisky. The Edinburgh-headquartered brand behind the Isle of Raasay Distillery has just completed the purchase of a site in the remote Argyll & Bute port and the intention is to spend £10 to £15 million to develop a facility there.
We know it’s real because a) who the hell spends that kind of money if they’re not serious? And b) the project already has a name. Folks, your fourth Campbeltown whisky maker will be called the Machrihanish Distillery. You can’t kill it now, R&B, we’ve grown attached.
The current Dhurrie Farm
Campbelltown comeback
For those who don’t know their Scotch whisky regions and are wondering just what the hell a Campbeltown is and why we’re so animated about this news, allow us to illuminate for you.
See, the Scotch whisky category is divided into five distinct, legally-defined areas of production: Speyside, Islay, Highland (which the Islands are technically a part of), Lowland, and Campbeltown. The latter is the smallest designation and presently has just three distilleries.
There’s Springbank (also home to Longrow and Hazelburn whisky), Glen Scotia, and Glengyle which releases whisky under the Kilkerran brand. The latter was completely remade as a new distillery in 2004 after closing in 1925, so more like a reboot of a classic sitcom than the new-from-scratch distillery R&B Distillers is putting together.
This is very exciting, for a number of reasons. One, a new distillery means new whisky, and we’ll always be happy about that (assuming the plans don’t sound like a total disaster). But also the legacy and culture of Campbeltown whisky make this a very romantic proposition for whisky nerds like us.
The classic characterful, full-bodied, and smoky style of spirit has charmed us and whisky fans the world over for some time. In fact, it was only this time last year that we remarked how surprising it was that no new distilleries were en route given the amount of history and infrastructure there is to latch on to.
The planned Machrihanish Distillery
What to expect from Machrihanish Distillery
R&B Distillers expects to finalise planning during 2022, and aims to break ground in 2023. The expectation is that the Dhurrie Farm location will house a new ‘farm-to-bottle’ distillery and visitor centre, staying true to a process distilleries would have used in Campbelltown’s classic period by producing whisky with local barley. The planned initial production output will be 400,000-litres a year.
It is R&B’s ambition to create a sustainable net-zero distilling process, with biological farming practices and create greater biodiversity on the farmland. With a new distillery also comes employment opportunities, with over 20 jobs expected to be filled. For a remote area in a time of economic hardship, this is massive.
Argyll & Bute councillor Donald Kelly said he was “delighted to see what could be the beginning of a renaissance of whisky distilling in the Campbeltown region”. He added that “with years gone by since we were Scotland’s home of whisky, seeing the return of a farm-to-bottle distillery that will provide important local employment and a vibrant visitor attraction is something that really excites me and the broader community”.
If it’s as good as the Isle of Raasay Distillery, we’re in luck!
Realising ambition
R&B Distillers co-founder Bill Dobbie will feel that personal connection as his family were originally from the Campbeltown area. In a statement he gave earlier he says that when R&B Distillers was founded in 2015, there was a clear ambition to “create Scotland’s leading artisanal distiller – building on Raasay’s nascent success and, noticing the clear global demand for supreme quality drinks with unquestionable provenance, this announcement confirms significant progress towards this goal.”
It’s not stopping there, however, as plans are also progressing for a micro-grain distillery in Coldstream. Together with South of Scotland Enterprise and Borders Council, it is exploring several options for the site of a new distillery that should be confirmed shortly.
It’s not just a very promising time for Campbeltown whisky, but for R&B Distillers too. We can’t wait to see the distillery. Hopefully in person. Assuming we get invited. Which would be lovely. We’re not fishing or anything. Nope.