DRINK : Review of Lagg Whisky and Distillery, Isle of Arran

My first trip to Arran and certainly not my last. It seems at the moment where-ever there is a whisky distillery, TartanSpoon and WhiskyForager are there!

GETTING TO ARRAN

Like most of the Scottish islands (except for Lewis), Arran is beautiful. It’s the seventh largest of the Scottish isles and the ruggedness set against some breathtaking mountain and sea views is spectacular. The deep blue skies only interrupted by fluffy candyfloss clouds and the azure blues of the crystal clear waters contrasting against the bright green of the farming landscape. Welcome to Arran.

Arran is very accessible from mainland Scotland. Make your way to Ardrossan harbour on the west coast and catch the Calmac ferry over the water to Brodick. The crossing takes less than an hour (around 55 minutes) and costs £34.20 for a car, £8.40 per adult and £4.20 per child. Calmac ferries allow for cars, motorhomes, caravans, motorcycles and walk-ons.

REVIEW OF LAGG WHISKY DISTILLERY, ISLE OF ARRAN

ARRAN WHISKY DISTILLERIES - LAGG AND LOCHRANZA

There are two distilleries on Arran, namely Lagg and Lochranza. They are mostly one and the same or sister distilleries but Lagg only produces peated whisky. One of the other main reasons for having two distilleries is space. Lochranza doesn’t have the space to expand but Lagg does and you’ll find many of the warehouses at Lagg contain Lochranza whisky.

Lochranza, located in the north of the island is currently closed for some refurbishments but Lagg in the south is open and welcoming visitors.

THE VIEWS FROM LAGG

The Lagg Distillery is stunning. The building’s angular outline depicts the Arran landscape combining white walls and glass, providing great views into the distillery and the stills. Its dramatic roofs are covered with a sedum blanket containing a mix of plants that change colour with the seasons.

The views from inside; the cafe, the shop and upper balcony boast vistas across farmlands, barley fields and Ailsa Craig over to Kintyre.

LAGG DISTILLERY

In the 1800s there were hundred of illegal stills making whisky across Arran. In 1840 Lagg Distillery (a legal distillery) closed its doors due to poor management and it was only in 2019 that the new Lagg Distillery opened.

The custom-made copper pot stills were installed on the distillery floor in August 2018, and now sit proudly alongside their mash tun and four traditional wooden washbacks.

THE CHOCOLATE AND WHISKY TASTING

The tour around Lagg Distillery is great. They have a superb audio visual introduction to Arran and whisky, followed by a tour of the still house. We chose to do the whisky and chocolate pairing and managed to try some of their soon to be bottled Inaugural releases and new make spirit.

Their tours are £12pp and their tastings are £15pp.

THE LAUNCH AT TIPSY MIDGIE WHISKY AND GIN DRINKERY

Following on from our visit to Lagg Distillery on Arran, I was invited to celebrate the launch of Lagg’s first ever Single Malt, held at Tipsy Midgie Whisky Drinkery at the end of September 2022. I got the chance to try all three of the inaugural releases and enjoy some paired canapes from WhiskyForager using Lagg Whisky.

The heavily peated whisky makes a bold step into the whisky industry with its robust, complex, and earthy “west coast” style while bringing a contemporary twist to traditional methods of producing peated whisky on Arran.

For the Inaugural Releases, they used Concerto malted barley, water from their own borehole and sourced peat from the highlands of Scotland which gives the perfect gentle, aromatic, woody smoke to the spirit of Lagg.

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The primary purpose at Lagg is to produce a top quality peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Whilst doing so, they are committing to support local projects that are focused on preserving peatlands for the good of the planet. Peatlands are highly efficient, compact carbon sinks. Although they cover only 3% of the global land surface, they store nearly 550 billion tonnes of carbon –which is as much carbon as in all terrestrial biomass and twice as much as in all the world’s forests. Despite the power that they hold, peatlands are still under threat globally from drainage for agriculture, forestry, and resource extraction. This destruction is accelerating global warming. Only by restoring these peatlands to health, by rewetting and rewilding the bogs and removing the incumbent agricultural and forestry projects, will the carbon stay locked in the ground where it’s meant to be.

The new distillery is captained by Graham Omand, Lagg Distillery Manager, who worked as a stillman at Arran’s Lochranza Distillery for several years building knowledge and experience at the North end of the island before overseeing Lagg Distillery’s construction and leading a brand-new team down south. Graham will oversee the production and care of the earthy, peated Lagg Single Malt and is very much looking forward to adding his own interpretation and style to the spirit to ensure it is of the highest possible quality.

Lagg Inaugural Release Batch 1

Batch 1 is made from malted Concierto barley peated using peat from North East Scotland, to a level of 50PPM. This spirit was matured exclusively in bourbon casks for 36 months and bottled at 50% abv. without chill-filtration of colouring. This release is limited to 10,000 bottles.

Lagg Inaugural Release Batch 2

Batch 2 is matured in Bourbon Barrels for 30 months and finished in 55 litre Ex-Oloroso Sherry Casks for 6 months. It was produced using Concerto barley and water from our borehole. We used peat from North East Scotland and the peating level is 50PPM. It is non chill filtered with no additional colouring and is bottled at 50% abv. This Batch is a limited release of 10,000 bottles worldwide.

Lagg Inaugural Release Batch 3

Batch 3 is matured in Bourbon Barrels for 30 months and transferred into 50 litre Ex-Rioja Red Wine charred casks for 6 months. It was produced using Concerto barley and water from our borehole. We used peat from North East Scotland and the peating level is 50PPM. It is non chill filtered with no additional colouring and is bottled at 50% abv. This Batch is a limited release of 10,000 bottles worldwide.

THE CANAPES

These were created and made by Colin Hinds aka WhiskyForager and owner of The Tipsy Midgie. Colin infused many of the key elements of these canapes with Lagg new make spirit, adding it to the doughnut, the mushroom duxelle and the oatcake; smoking the Scottish salmon with smoke chips doused in Lagg new make and using local Arran products like the honey and the cheese.

These canapes packed a punch but really complimented the smokiness of each of the whiskies.