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Douglas Laing
to build new yet to be named distillery
on the banks of the river Clyde in
Glasgow.
I have always
wondered why Glasgow based independent
bottler Douglas Laing has not got their
own distillery as I reckon with their
generations of knowledge of maturing,
blending and creating Scotch whiskies
that whisky enthusiasts enjoy they could
do something special with a constant
supply of one single malt whisky. Most
likely the right right distillery for
their vision of a single malt has never
come available, not to be deterred
though, the Glasgow based independent
bottler has just announced their plans
to build their very own £10.7 million
malt whisky distillery from scratch and
where else but right in the centre of
their home town of Glasgow. They have
just unveiled plans to build a new yet
to be named urban whisky distillery and
bottling complex on the banks of the
river Clyde.
The new distillery will be fitted with
traditional pot stills and wooden
washbacks and although technically in
the Lowland region it will produce what
Chris Leggat, finance director for
Douglas Laing & Co describes as a
"gritty, urban style of malt", its style
will be more in line with the Speyside
and Highlands style.
The development at Pacific Quay, one of
Glasgow’s most high profile waterfront
sites, will also see the launch of their
new Govan-based Malt Whisky, celebrating
the connection between the firm and the
site of its new distillery which will
also house a corporate head office, a
visitor centre, a whisky laboratory and
archive, bar and bistro.
Beyond private family money, the
Scottish Government is part-grant
funding the innovative development by
Douglas Laing, which will create up to
38 new jobs and will see the existing
Douglas Laing workforce almost treble
from 22 to 60.
The company is to receive £855,000
through the Food Processing Marketing
and Co-operation (FPMC) grant scheme, a
£70 million funding programme for the
food and drink business across Scotland
which was launched in 2015. The grant
will assist with the capital costs of
distillery equipment and plant. The FPMC
scheme is aimed at supporting such costs
of businesses involved in the processing
of primary agricultural produce to
develop new and existing facilities.
The Govan-based distillery announcement
comes at a time of consistent progress
for Douglas Laing & Co which has doubled
in size in the last 4 years and recorded
double digit growth in the last three
years. Profits are up 17 per cent last
year alone, as sales soared 29 per cent
globally.
Announcing the funding, Scottish
Government Environment Secretary
Roseanna Cunningham said: "I would like
to congratulate Douglas Laing & Co Ltd
on securing this funding, which will
pave the way to bring quality whisky
production to the heart of Glasgow. This
is just one example of how the Scottish
Government in supporting our world-class
producers to flourish, ensuring that our
food and drink continues to be the
cornerstone of our economy, environment
and culture."
Third generation family member, Cara
Laing, the Director of Whisky in the
firm commented:
"Until now we have depended on third
party companies for our production
requirements. These working associations
have been and still are invaluable, but
now we feel it’s time to be more in
control of our own destiny and to build
on our core and current business.
"With Generation 3 firmly entrenched, we
undertook a strategic review and
identified an opportunity to become a
distiller in our own right with a
dedicated bottling and warehouse
capacity. We believe this will see the
core business develop at a rate of 15
per cent year-on-year, helping to grow
our existing brands while allowing us to
introduce new marques, and seek out new
international markets.
"Instead of being perceived as an
independent bottler, we will become a
distiller, owning the production process
from start to finish - from barley to
the bottle - with an initial capability
of producing considerably more than
100,000 litres of alcohol per annum."
Water will be piped to the complex from
Loch Katrine which is the source of
Glasgow’s water supply and 300 tonnes of
barley will be brought in from Scottish
farms to create the whisky.
The firm was founded by Cara’s
grandfather, the eponymous Fred Douglas
Laing and the company is now run by her
father Fred, the Managing Director who
said:
"With this innovative and ambitious plan
to absorb our head office, distillery
and bottling facility on one footprint,
we continue to put in place an exciting
future for Douglas Laing & Co and our
team. We are indebted to all our
suppliers and partners who have helped
to bring us to this stage, and look
forward to continuing those invaluable
and trusted relationships in the
future."
The all-encompassing site of Douglas
Laing's Glasgow distillery will feature:
- Urban craft
distillery, visitor centre and bar /
bistro
- Bespoke
bottling facility
- Warehousing
- Head office
The Pacific
Quay site is owned by Scottish
Enterprise which has appointed Drum
Property Group as preferred
developers. Planning discussions
with Glasgow City Council are
advanced.
Cara said: "We are enormously
grateful for the support we have
received from the Scottish
Government, Scottish Enterprise and
the city council planners in
Glasgow.
"The FPMC package was very important
to the project and without it we
would not have been able to
undertake a project of this scale,
so we deeply appreciate the
assistance we have received which
allows us to drive the development
forward and recreate not just a
piece of whisky history in Glasgow
but a healthy number of new jobs.
"At the same time we shall be
providing a top quality,
environmentally friendly facility
delivering high efficiencies which
will result in reduced packaging,
less wastage, reduced energy
consumption and lower costs allied
to CO2 reductions."
The company - whose brands include
Xtra Old Particular (XOP), Old
Particular, Provenance, The
Epicurean, Timorous Beastie,
Scallywag, Rock Oyster, Big Peat and
The King of Scots hope the
distillery will be operational by
the end of 2018.
It is fantastic to see a Scottish
owned whisky business, investing in
the Scotch whisky industry, creating
jobs in Scotland and I have no doubt
given Fred Laing and co's knowledge
of whisky producing what will be a
very palatable single malt whisky. I
am looking forward to giving them a
visit next year when they are up and
running.
While you are waiting for the new
Douglas Laing Glasgow distillery to be built
you will find DL's range of whiskies
including Xtra Old Particular,
Old Particular, Provenance, The
Epicurean, Timorous Beastie,
Scallywag, Rock Oyster and the
deliciously smoky Big Peat available
from
specialist online whisky shops such as
Master of Malt
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