The distillery was founded by a consortium led by Harold Currie, former director at Chivas Brothers. The chosen site for the distillery was at Lochranza in the north of the island. In 1997, Arran’s visitor centre was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It attracts 60,000 people visiting the distillery every year.
The distillery raised initial cashflow by selling casks of whisky to private individuals, but the scheme was halted when it was discovered that the distillery not owning a significant percentage of its own stock – a problem when trying to build a brand. Until recently a proportion of the casks were stored in the warehouses of Springbank, due to a lack of room in the distillery, and the legal impossibility of extending the current warehouses at the distillery. Parent company Isle of Arran Distillers opened a second distillery, Lagg, in the south of the island in 2019. In 2020, a new blended whisky was announced whihc was made up from whisky from both of the Arran distilleries.
Small proportion of the whisky distilled at the distillery is used for a range of blended whiskies: Lochranza Blend, Robert Burns Blend and Arran Gold Single Malt Whisky Cream Liqueur.
Brands produced in the distillery – Robert Burns.
Region: Island
Area: Isle of Arran
Current Owner: Isle of Arran Distillers
Founded : 1995
Founder : Isle of Arran Distillers
No. of wash stills: 2
No. of spirit stills: 2
Capacity (litres): 1,200,000.00
Website: www.arranwhisky.com
English