Our Distillery
Our single malt Scotch whisky has been a labour of love for years. We are intent on not cutting corners at any stage. Everything we do, from our wooden washbacks to our on-site racked warehouse, is focused on producing the highest quality spirit possible.
Initially led by the experience of Malcolm Rennie and John Campbell, Lochlea is now under the management of Distillery Manager Darren McCormick. Darren has been with Lochlea since the very beginning, filling the first ever Lochlea cask in 2018. 6 years on, he continues to ensure our spirit is of the highest quality by overseeing every aspect of production.
Forget your preconceptions about Lowland whisky, Lochlea is different. Using our own barley grown at Lochlea, nurturing a long fermentation and being meticulous with our cut points creates a new make bursting with orchard fruit, and elegant beyond its years.
Our diligent process at each stage of production creates a unique spirit character defined by the carefully selected raw materials and the skill of our team. It is led with great patience and attention to detail by our Production team, Darren, George and Bryce, who consistently pull through the signature Lochlea flavours of juicy fruit and moreish cereal - a very different profile to the traditional typical Lowland style.
Our Spirit Style
The fruit, biscuit and nutty characteristics shine through in Lochlea new make for a number of reasons. These include raking our mash tun after the third water to create a semi-cloudy wort going into the wash backs, and utilising two different fermentation times (66-116 hours) to get the right balance and depth in the final spirit.
The stills are then run slowly to promote copper contact, and we source the finest casks from all over the world to mature our precious whisky.
Production Statistics
We produce approximately 180,000 LPA using a 2 tonne semi lauter mash tun, 6 Douglas Fir wooden washbacks and 2 bespoke copper stills.
We fill all casks on-site, approximately 30 per week, and they are stored in our 3 bonded warehouses.
By using our barley grown on the farm and our on-site water source, we have full traceability over the ingredients going into our process, allowing a higher level of quality control and creating a flavour profile unique to Lochlea.
The real spirit of Lochlea is in our team.
We’re a small team but a passionate one; focused on producing the best single malt whisky from our homegrown barley.
Find out more about us here.