A dream of a distillery (Arran)
Our Mystery Visitor travels to Arran
Isuppose that most, if not all readers of Whisky Magazine have dreamt of running their own distillery. Back in 1995, after a distinguished career in the industry, Harold Currie did rather more than that â he built his own brand new distillery, from scratch, and started producing single malt whisky.
His dream was to resurrect the lost distilling tradition on the Isle of Arran â a small island in the Firth of Clyde, sheltered from the Atlantic
gales by the Mull of Kintyre â and today a popular holiday destination.
The site chosen was at Lochranza, in the north of the island at the foot of a beautiful glen, close to the ruined Lochranza Castle.
With tourism in mind, a visitor centre and restaurant was naturally also part of the dream and, in fact, is the first step on any tour.
The centre runs seven days a week throughout the summer, with guided tours departing on the hour. There are limited winter operating hours. Admission is £3.50, with the normal concessions.
For that, thereâs a small exhibition with an attractive waterfall display and an explanation of wood and ageing, followed by a short video in the rather cheesy replica 18th century âCrofters Innâ.
The film itself starts well enough, with interesting footage of the distilleryâs construction but then tails off into a conventional sales presentation. Itâs something of a lost opportunity to exploit one of Arranâs unique aspects â after all, when did you last see a distillery being built?
I cert.....
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By Mystery Visitor
Section : Mystery Visitor
Page number : 42
