Gartbreck distillery information

Gartbreck distillery is an upcoming distillery located on the Island (and whisk region) of Islay in South-western Scotland. It’s currently in the planning phase, and is intended to be built on the site of an old farm on the shore of Loch Indaal near the town of Bowmore. When finalized, it will be the ninth distillery on the island.

Garthbeck distillery location

Garthbeck distillery location

At this moment (April 20-14), little is known about the distillery, as it has only recently (First news leaked out in September 2013, but from unofficial sources. January 27th, an article was published in The Spirits Business, while April 3rd marked the release of a newsarticle in the Herald of Scotland announcing some additional details about the distillery) been granted planning permission.  The owners, Jean and Martine Donnay hope be done with the construction and commence distilling  by the autumn of 2015.

3D model of the planned Garthbeck Distillery on the island of Islay

3D model of the planned Garthbeck Distillery on the island of Islay

All that is currently known about the distillery setup is that they intend to use wooden washbacks, and two stills, which we will assume to be 1 wash still and a spirit still. Another tidbit of info that was released is that Gartbreck intends to directly heat the stills using live flame, rather than by using steel coils heated with steam. This method of heating is currently only used by a small handful of other distilleries (GlenFarclas, GlenFiddich and Springbank), and while it is more expensive, the idea behind it is to add additional texture and aromas to the whisky.

The water source for the distillery will be Grunnd Loch, which lies some 900 metres away from the distillery.

Grunnd Loch, the water source for the Gartbreck distillery

Grunnd Loch, the water source for the Gartbreck distillery

Update: The Gartbreck distillery most likely will not happen, due to a dispute with an original partner in the project, Hunter Laing.

Gartbreck whisky

The intention is to produce a single product of whisky, which will be a typical peated Islay, with an intended PPM of 30/35. They will primarily mature in Bourbon barrels, though plans exist to also employ the use of Sherry casks.

Distillery info:

NameGartbreck
RegionIslay
Logo
StatusConstruction
Founded2013
Water sourceGrunnd Loch
Owned byGartbreck Distilling Company
Address

Gartbreck distillery
Moss Rd
Bowmore
Isle of Islay
PA43 7JG, United Kingdom

+(44) 1496 511301

Visitor centrePlanned
Websitehttp://www.gartbreck.com
Twitterhttp://www.twitter.com/Gartbreck_Islay
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Gartbreck-Distillery/403260619809951
CommunityN/A
Map

Distillery Setup:

Component
Capacity
Quantity
Mash tun1 tonne?
Washback2,500 litres?
Wash still2,500 litres1
Spirit Still1,500 litres1
Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol)60,000 litres

Images provided by Gartbreck distillery’s Twitter account.