Isle of Arran Distillery retains tourist attraction trophy

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 06 November, 2015

The Isle of Arran Distillery has been name Best Distillery Visitor Experience for the second year running.

The award, from the Scottish Field Whisky Challenge, came despite strong competition from ten other short-listed distilleries, among them Glendronach and Ben Nevis.

The Isle of Arran Distillery Visitor Centre was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 1997.

It offers small-scale tours as well as in-depth whisky experiences.

Faye Waterlow, visitor centre manager at the Isle of Arran Distillery, said: "We're incredibly proud of what we do at the visitor centre. The distillery produces whisky of an exceptional quality and our aim is always to match that with our warmth, knowledge and dedication.

"The feedback from visitors is always our marker, but to be recognised by Scottish Field for the second year running is a wonderful affirmation of our efforts."

The distillery was founded in 1995. Award-winning whiskies include the 12 year-old Cask Strength, which took double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2013.

The visitor centre will open a new blending and tasting room in March 2016.

The distillery itself is installing two new stills.

Euan Mitchell, managing director, said: "Welcoming people to the distillery is very important to us. The quality and provenance of our whisky naturally attracts some very passionate visitors, including Roman Abramovich this summer, so it's essential that our visitor experience lives up to expectations.

"With the distillery turning 21 next year, we're looking forward to expanding and hope to welcome many more whisky fans to Lochranza."

A survey by the Scotch Whisky Association found that Scotland's distilleries attracted over 1.5 million visitors in 2014, up 6% on the previous year.

Visitors spent some £50 million in total, with the average spend per visitor at £32.50.

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