Renowned single malt whisky maker, John Campbell, has joined independent family-owned Lochlea Distillery as their new production director.
Lochlea Distillery, based at Lochlea Farm, welcomes the former Laphroaig Distillery manager who will be heading up the production team ahead of the release of their inaugural liquid set to launch in early 2022.
Moving to the mainland after 27 years working on his native Islay, John brings his extensive experience and has plenty of innovative ideas to help shape the future of Lochlea.
John said: ‘Moving over to the mainland and joining Lochlea Distillery is an exciting step for my career. It’s an opportunity to develop a whisky that is innovative and distinctive, with a distillery that shares my ethos on quality, environment and sustainability.
‘Getting involved in the process from this early stage means I can help to define what Lochlea becomes. The next few years are going to be incredibly exciting for us and I’m looking forward to us creating something really special.’
Lochlea’s commercial manager, David Ferguson added: ‘From our first meeting it was clear that John’s values aligned closely with ours as a business. His experience at Laphroaig in growing an iconic global whisky brand over the past 27 years is impressive. Though the most exciting part for me is that he brings new ideas, an emphasis on quality and an entrepreneurial streak which shone through with the Cairdeas bottlings he was responsible for.
Lochlea Distillery production director John Campbell
‘Having full traceability from growing our own barley through to maturing every drop of our spirit on site is great, but just as important is the team we’re building to develop the brand. John is another fantastic addition and will undoubtedly help us fulfil the ambitious plans we have for Lochlea.’
Lochlea Distillery is the result of a £6m investment. Planning of the purpose built facility started in 2014 with everything from the groundwork and foundations, through to installation of the still house equipment, taking four years to complete.
Production of the liquid started in August 2018 with the first casks filled and stock laid down in their on-site warehouse.
Rooted in Scottish history, Lochlea was once home to Robert Burns himself. Burns worked the lush farmland from 1777 to 1784 and has inspired the honest, passionate and progressive nature of Lochlea Whisky.
Find out more at lochleadistillery.com
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