Bruichladdich have announced the
installation of an unusual fifth still
during recent still house renovations.
The still was described by Tom Morton in
his excellent Spirit of Adventure as “An
oversized, upside-down dustbin made of
copper” and it has been very
appropriately christened by
Bruichladdich as Ugly Betty, and you can
see why.
It is a Lomand still, which is a
defunct experimental cross between a
Coffey and a pot still, it was designed
with a thick column-like neck with
removable sections inserted.
The aim was to create more character and
variety of styles of spirit by imitating
the effect that different lengths of
still "neck" would have.
The versatile still had plates, like
Roman blinds, which could be "opened"
and varying the angle of the lyne arm
for lighter or heavier spirit.
The first Lomand, a spirit still, was
installed in 1956 at Inverleven, part of
the enormous Dumbarton grain distillery
complex, on the banks of the Clyde .
Inverleven was closed in 1991 and raised
to the ground in 2004. But before it
closed Bruichladdich nipped in and
removed, among other things, the Lomand.
So, fittingly, the first shall be last:
the original, the only authentic Lomand
in existence, lives to fight another
day.
True to its founding principal, it is
being fitted with Jim McEwan's newly designed
neck section, the “Silver Gattling”.
It may be the only one of its type left,
but she's no oil painting. Welcome to
Ugly Betty.
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