Loch Lomond

Introduction:

Loch Lomond Distillery, located in Alexandria near Loch Lomond in Scotland, produces a diverse range of whiskies including single malt, single grain, and blends. The main brands associated with the distillery are Loch Lomond and Inchmurrin. Loch Lomond whiskies are known for their soft, sweet, fruity, and slightly smoky characteristics, while Inchmurrin whiskies are floral, light, and grassy in nature.

Whisky Range:

The Loch Lomond range includes an 18 – year – old expression as well as various younger releases. There is also a peated version of Loch Lomond single malt available without an age statement. Inchmurrin whisky is available in 12 – year – old, 15 – year – old, 18 – year – old, and 21 – year – old expressions, along with special editions from independent bottlers. Inchmoan is the peated variation of Inchmurrin whisky. Both Inchmurrin and Inchmoan are named after islands in Loch Lomond. The distillery also produced Inchfad, a heavily smoky whisky, but this expression is now rare and mainly used for internal communication purposes.

Ben Lomond Gin:

In addition to whisky production, Loch Lomond Distillery also produces Ben Lomond Gin, named after the mountain in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Ben Lomond Gin offers a range of options, including a classic London Dry Gin and several flavored gins. The botanicals used in Ben Lomond Gin include juniper berries, angelica root, coriander, cassia bark, rowan berries, orange peel, rose petals, Szechuan peppercorns, blackcurrants, orris root, and liquorice root.

Production:

The production process at Loch Lomond Distillery is characterized by its industrial scale. The distillery operates continuously, seven days a week. The distillery buildings are designed as a large factory with pipelines connecting various tanks and buildings for the transfer of spirit.

Mashing:

Loch Lomond sources all its malt from Scotland, and two large maltings supply the distillery with malted barley. The malt is milled in an old Porteus malt mill. Three different peat levels are used for the barley: heavy, medium, and light peat. The distillery employs a modern stainless-steel mash tun for mashing, which operates around the clock. Four six-hour mashes are performed daily, resulting in approximately 50,000 liters of mash.

Fermentation:

Stainless steel washbacks are utilized for fermentation, with a total of 41 vessels used at Loch Lomond Distillery. The distillery has various sizes of washbacks, including 25,000 – liter, 50,000 – liter, 100,000-liter, and 200,000 – liter capacities. Half of the fermentation vessels are located outside the building. The fruity character of the whisky is achieved through the use of different yeasts, including normal distiller’s yeast, Chardonnay yeast, and Sauvignon Blanc yeast. Fermentation is extended to at least 90 hours to promote the development of fruity flavors.

Distillation:

Loch Lomond Distillery utilizes two traditional copper pot stills and six copper pot stills with rectification (Lomond Stills) for malt whisky production. Additionally, column stills are employed for grain whisky production. The Lomond stills provide increased copper contact and allow for alcohol production up to 90% ABV. There was a dispute in 2008 regarding whether whisky produced through continuous distillation could be labeled as “Single Malt Whisky,”even if it is made from 100% malted barley. The total capacity of Loch Lomond Distillery is reported to be 5 million liters of malt whisky and 18 million liters of grain whisky.

Cooperage and Warehouses:

Loch Lomond Distillery has its own cooperage on-site where barrel rejuvenation takes place. Barrels are repaired and charred to meet the demand for maturing the distillery’s large production output. The cooperage replaces the metal hoops of around 10,000 barrels annually. The warehouses at Loch Lomond include a mix of new and old buildings, some made of bricks. These older buildings were originally part of a foundry related to shipbuilding on the Clyde side. The whisky is matured in bourbon casks or hogsheads made from bourbon casks for a minimum of 12 years, with some expressions aged for 15 years, 18 years, or longer.

History:

Loch Lomond Distillery was established in 1964 by the Littlemill Distillery Co. Ltd. Production began in 1966, and in 1971, the distillery was acquired by Barton Brands. In 1982, Amalgated Distilled Products (ADP) took over, and the Lomond Distillery was closed in 1983. Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd. purchased the distillery in 1985, and production resumed in 1987. In 1993, a column still was installed for grain whisky production, making Loch Lomond the only distillery to produce both malt and grain whisky under one roof. In 1994, Glen Scotia Distillery in Campbeltown was added to the company. In 2014, the distillery, along with the Glen Catrine bottling plant and Glen Scotia Distillery, was sold to Exponent, a private firm.

Visitor Center:

Unfortunately, there is no visitor center at Loch Lomond Distillery, and public tours are not available.

Visitor information:

Loch Lomond Distillery
Lomond Estate
Alexandria
Scotland G83 0TL
Tel: +44 (0)1389-752781
Email: info@lochlomondgroup.com