Lochlea Distillery - From Burns to Barley

In this episode, we speak to David Ferguson, Commercial Director of Lochlea Distilling Co.

Lochlea had always been a dairy farm, up until 2006. They farmed pedigree beef cattle until 2014, when they decided that for a farm of this size to be viable, they needed to do something very different.

Barley had historically been grown on the farm, mainly as livestock feed, and so in 2015 they embarked on an experiment: growing 50 acres of malting barley. 

Construction began in 2017, converting the former piggery, byre, and midden in the heart of the farm steading into the distillery, and repurposing the cattle sheds into bonded warehouses.

They secured all of the licenses in 2018, and the distillery was commissioned in August 2018. 

Since then, they have been growing the barley and the distillery team have been skillfully and patiently making spirit.

During the chat with David, we discuss:

• David's journey to Lochlea
• Understanding the brand
• The challenges the brand has faced as starting up
• Growing everything in-house
• Limited edition bottling - the process and challenges
• Release plans and age statement casks
• What's next for Lochlea