Whisky news round-up: Orkney, Glenfiddich, and more

Peter Ranscombe rounds-up more whisky news from Scotland.

ORKNEY is getting its third whisky distillery.

Stuart and Adelle Brown have unveiled Deerness Distillery, which will be the first to open in the county for 138 years.

Construction work on the six-figure distillery is expected to begin in the coming weeks after planning permission was granted.

The Browns already make Sea Glass gin from a self-built distillery in the family’s six acre garden.

Staying with Orkney, and Scapa Distillery has built a tasting room.

The site – which is owned by French spirit giant Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers arm – will open its “Scapa Noust” tasting room tomorrow.

Orcadian architect Mark Fresson designed the structure, which is clad in stones taken from throughout Mainland.

The interior also features Orcadian basket weaving.

From the Northern Isles to the Western Isles, where a topping out ceremony has taken place at Benbecula Distillery.

Angus E MacMillan, one of the directors of MacMillan Spirits Company, said: “The building design – and in particular the lighthouse feature – was intended to reflect the nautical heritage of the islands, which we also intend to capture in the spirits produced in our distillery.”

The distillery and its lighthouse feature were designed by Organic Architects and are being built by local contractor MacInnes Bros.

Benbecula Distillery aims to produce 500,000 bottles of whisky each year and will create around a dozen jobs on the island.

Scotland’s whisky distillers continue to innovate through their choice of casks, with a flurry of new releases in recent weeks.

Glenfiddich has created the first single malt Scotch to be finished in rare ex-Awamori casks, the oldest distilled alcoholic spirit in Japan.

Awamori is made using long grain indica rice and traditionally stored in clay pots and matured in oak casks.

Meanwhile, Tomatin has released Cù Bòcan Creation #5, which it believes to be the first single malt Scotch to have been matured in Colombian Andean oak casks.

The distillery had previously used Japanese Shochu casks for its Creation #2 bottle in 2019.

Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s food and drink pages, in association with Cask & Still magazine.

Plus, don’t miss Blair Bowman’s whisky column in the April issue of Scottish Field magazine.