WITH plans to revive one of Scotland’s most famous distilleries in the works, those behind the revival of Robert Burns' favourite whisky say they’re “not going back to the future" but rather “going forward to the past”.
Organic Architects, specialists in sustainable distilling, submitted planning permission to the Highland Council last month to build a new distillery in the heart of Ferintosh in the Black Isle.
Ferintosh was one of Scotland’s most famous names as it was famed for producing high-quality spirit long before whisky regions emerged and was celebrated by one of the country’s greatest poets and even Bonnie Prince Charlie's drink of choice.
Centuries after Ferintosh distilling heritage was lost, Gareth Roberts, founder of Organic Architects and specialist in eco-distilling, along with his team, is planning to restore whisky production back to the region once again.
The Ferintosh region was once the largest producer of Scotch whisky and in the late 18th century around 1000 locals were employed in the distilling industry, as Roberts said it's a massive part of Scotland’s rich distilling history.
“There's a real buzz because it's accepted as a truly historic name,” he said.
“We're bringing one of the really old names back to an industry that trades on tradition and the great thing about whisky is tradition, in the way it's made, and the place.”
The application submitted by Organic Architects outlines plans to build a new distillery along with a visitor centre and a warehouse with the aim of creating around 30 jobs in the local area.
The site of Organic Arhcitects's plans is proposed to be built in the same field as one of the old Ferintosh distilleries where the large steel still bases are still located. Roberts said the idea is to have the new distillery look over the remnants of the old site.
“The site is so beautiful,” he said.
“It's quiet mind-blowing to go there and look at something that was built hundreds of years ago, that's in the ground, that's been uncovered by local archaeologists.
“Then to think, now we're going to take it on for another few 100 years.
“It's quite an amazing privilege.”
Roberts explained there are plans to investigate the site with local archeologists to confirm if it was the final “mythical distillery” that broke the camel's back causing the region's production to decline.
Ferintosh’s landowner was exempted from paying duty tax by the king in the 1700s and was able to drastically undercut the prices of their competitors.
In its golden area, distilleries working in the area were producing more than 100,000 gallons of spirits per annum with some historians claiming it sometimes equaled the combined output of all of Scotland’s duty-paying distilleries combined.
However, after other whisky makers complained about the estates tax break, the government intervened and Ferintosh’s exception was then ended after years of lucrative trade, leading to its demise.
“It's an absolutely amazing history,” Roberts said. He added there are plans to use traditional methods of distilling and production to recreate the historic Ferintosh’s whisky once again.
“We're not going back to the future; we're going forward to the past,” Roberts said.
He added: “We're going forward to old ways of doing things.”
There are plans for a floor maltings on the site, which is a traditional method of producing malt for whisky and involves steeping, spreading, and turning grain on a concrete floor.
There are also plans to build an entire building to house an old-fashioned still, which is heated directly by a fire underneath a giant “onion dome”, unlike modern-day stills, which typically have a coil in the middle of them with a heating element.
“With the archaeology, as well as the original still bases and the history of Ferintosh, the new building containing beautiful old elements from historical distilling could be a real showpiece for Scotch whisky,” Roberts said.
He added: “Everyone's so excited about getting this very historical name and this part of Scottish distilling back up and running.”
Although Roberts is hopeful the planning application will be approved by the Highland Council, there have been some concerns raised by residents.
Weeks after the application was submitted, some locals in the Duncanston area of the Black Isle said they were concerned over the lack of consultation with developers along with fears of black mould filling their homes, the Ross-shire Journal reported.
However, Roberts said there are plans to meet the community and that the team at Organic Architects is working on a community benefit package.
When asked about what a community benefit package could entail, Roberts said he would like to see something similar to what Ardnamurchan distillery does where they give every new primary school student a cask of whisky in their name.
Then, when they become 18, the distillery buys it back off them with the money going straight to the child.
He added that the distillery also aims to be a provider of skilled jobs for people in the area.
Roberts said: “That's the beauty of whisky distilleries.
“Once you've built it, it's going to be there for hundreds of years.
“It's not like the sort of central belt computer factory that eats up its grants and then disappears off around the world.
“If you're making a spirit in Oban or in Speyside or in Pitlochry or wherever it is, it's wedded to that place. It isn't going anywhere.
“That's why it's such a beneficial thing for a place to have one of these businesses in it.”
