Ever since Stewart Laing worked at Bruichladdich as a teenager he felt an affinity with Islay and harboured a dream to one day build a family-owned and run distillery on the island.
In 2013 Laing established independent bottling company Hunter Laing & Co., and recruited his two sons, Andrew and Scott, to the board.
Noticing rapidly growing demand for its Islay whiskies, and with a desire to secure a future for his two sons, in January 2016 Laing acquired a site on the northeast coast of Islay and lodged plans to build an £8 million malt whisky distillery.
Planning permission was granted for Ardnahoe distillery in September 2016, and construction work began shortly after.
The distillery and visitor centre, which will feature an illuminated exterior waterfall, is expected to be operational by summer 2018.
Jim McEwan, who started his career in 1963 at the age of 15 as a cask maker in the Bowmore distillery., where he learned everything about the process of producing whisky and who then brought the distillery Bruichladdich back to life, will work for the new distillery. He will help to develop Ardnohoe and the new whisky.
