One of the distillers employed at Benromach Distillery over
30 years ago has officially opened two new dunnage warehouses built to handle
increased stocks of the Speyside single malt.
Tom Anderson stopped working at Benromach when it was
mothballed in 1983, but continues to live in one of the distillery cottages on
site. The current owners Gordon & MacPhail bought the distillery in 1993,
and following a painstaking restoration it was re-opened by HRH Prince Charles
in 1998.
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| Tom Anderson and Brian Williams |
Since then sales of the classic Speyside malt have grown
dramatically and Benromach is now exported to 42 countries around the world.
Last year Gordon & MacPhail announced the recruitment of a third distiller
and the building of the additional warehouses to allow production to be
expanded.
In April this year a new look was unveiled for the flagship
Benromach 10 Year Old, reflecting its pre-1960s character and the fact that
each cask is hand-filled, hand-weighed and hand-stamped.
Before an invited audience Mr Anderson unveiled a plaque, then he and the newest recruit to the distilling team at Benromach Brian Williams,
then rolled the first cask of Benromach into one of the new warehouses.
Michael Urquhart, Managing Director of Gordon &
MacPhail, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Tom was able to open our new
warehouses at Benromach. These are exciting times for our classic, hand-crafted
single malt whisky but whisky is a long-term business and the foundations for
our success were laid when Tom worked here and in the years before that. The
completion of the new warehouses almost doubles our storage capacity at
Benromach from 8,000 to 15,000 casks."
The new buildings, Warehouse 5 (1,600 sq m) and Warehouse 6
(900 sq m) were built using modern materials in the traditional dunnage style,
enabling casks to be stowed two or three high on an earthen floor. They have
been constructed with steel frames, blockwork, composite and insulated
cladding.
The Architects were Elgin-based Ashley Bartlam Partnership
and the main contractor was AD Walker from Banff, who sub-contracted work to a
variety of local firms. The project was completed with the assistance of
Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
Source: The Benromach Distillery