Distell
International has begun a £10.5 million
extensive upgrade and refresh of their
iconic Bunnahabhain distillery on Islay.
Distell International owners of the
Bunnahabhain distillery has just begun a
three year refurbishment
programme of the Islay distillery which
will see the them invest £10.5 million
in an extensive upgrade and refresh of
the iconic distillery.
Bunnahabhain distillery, which is
located at the most northerly point of
the island, has seen many changes since
it was established back in 1881 and over
the next three years it is planned to
upgrade, a number of the original
buildings will be carefully restored to
their former glory giving them a new
lease of life, whilst others will be
removed and relocated to create more
space, allowing for better operational
flow across the site and to enhance the
experience for visitors to the
distillery.
The refurbishment programme will see the
creation of a new ‘brand home’ and
visitor centre. This will also feature a
café and retail space and will be
positioned along the shoreline with
stunning views overlooking Bunnahabhain
Bay and the Sound of Islay. This is one
of the first new buildings to be
progressed and the plan is for the brand
home to be ready to welcome visitors for
the start of the 2020 season.
Some of the existing warehouses are in
the process of being removed from their
current shoreline positioning to enable
the visitor centre to be located there.
Work has already commenced with the
demolition of four warehouse buildings,
as well as the start of upgrades to the
existing pumphouse. So far, over 99% of
the materials processed during the
demolition have been recycled with the
majority retained for re-use at the
distillery. This recycling rate is in
line with the ambition to reduce the
potential impact of the works.
Other areas being improved include the
build of a new filling store,
refurbishment of the production building
and also the series of six cottages
alongside the distillery, which will
eventually be used for holiday
accommodation.
The development schedule and phasing of
activity have been carefully designed to
ensure minimal disruption to whisky
production and to the visitor experience
during this timeframe.
Bunnahabhain embodies the character of
the island, its non-peated flavour
exposes the coastal location of the
warehouses and the affect the salty
spray of the sea has on the whisky. All
of the single malt whisky in the
Bunnahabhain brand will continue to be
matured at the distillery, only metres
from the shoreline.
Derek Scott, Brand Director for Malts at
Distell International, said:
"Our investment programme, here at
Bunnahabhain, is about improving the
operational side of our distillery for
the long term future. We are restoring
our buildings to their former glory and
providing a visitor experience where we
don’t just welcome visitors, after the
long winding journey to get here, we
help them enjoy a piece of Bunnahabhain
life.
"The plans aim to make the navigation of
the site much easier for the visitor and
to, in simple terms, declutter it. This
will ensure the buildings are more
efficient from a storage point of view
and located in better suited, more
accessible locations to the production
buildings. Furthermore, we are committed
to reducing the environmental impact of
the works. The whisky industry is
starting to be more environmentally
aware and our achievement of recycling
over 99% of materials shows, with a
little bit of extra effort, it is
remarkable what we can achieve.
"Bunnahabhain has a special place in
Islay’s whisky heritage and we are
committed to retaining this by turning
Bunnahabhain Bay into a world-class
whisky destination of choice. As the
most remote and northerly distillery on
the island, our transformation will give
those who have made the journey time to
pause, forget about the rest of the
world and enjoy the serene
surroundings."
You will
find the current Bunnahabhain whisky range available
from specialist online whisky retailers
such as The Whisky Exchange,
Master of Malt and
The Whisky Shop
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