Brora reopens its doors after 38 years of being silent, following a £35 million investment by owners Diageo
On the 19th May 2021, for the first time in 38 years, a cask at the Brora distillery was filled. This momentous occasion marks the end of a three year restoration project which saw £35 million invested into Brora and Port Ellen, a second silent distillery.
The Brora distillery is in the Highland region of Scotland and the town is a small industrial town known for its wool and white sandstone, as well as its whisky. The original distillery was established in 1819 and was a stronghold of Scotch whisky until its closure in 1983.
Diageo, owner of the distillery, made the pledge to reopen this silent distillery in 2017 and for the last three and a half years they have been rebuilding the distillery brick by brick to restore it to its original 1819 condition.
In keeping with the preservation of the old distillery, 2021 Master Distiller Stewart Bowman is the son of the last exciseman of the old facility, who saw the Brora distillery go into silence. This generational legacy is part of Brora celebrating the staff both old and new that enabled the reopening to happen.
One thing that has changed from the original 1819 distillery is its power source. An exciting new development with the Brora reopening is that the distillery is now 100% carbon neutral, using 100% on-site renewable energy. The distillery will use a newly installed biomass boiler fueled by sustainably sourced wood chips.
Brora will be holding general visitor tours from July 2021 and those lucky buyers of the Triptych collection will be invited for a distillery tour with Master Distiller Stewart Bowman in due course. It has also been announced that there will be a distillery exclusive release, The Brora Distillery Collection: Hidden Beneath which will be a 1982 39 Year Old expression.
