A unique chance to buy your own cask of whisky

Whisky lovers always enjoy having a wee dram on tap.

And the chance to have their own cask is still available, as the Isle of Arran Distillery is still offering the very first casks to be filled at new Lagg site for sale.

The award-winning whisky producer Isle of Arran Distillers Ltd recently announced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of single malt history on the Isle of Arran.

With the construction of the whisky maker’s second site on the south of the island at Lagg well underway, master distiller James MacTaggart is releasing for purchase 700 casks from the first production to be filled at the new distillery.

These bourbon casks will contain approximately 280 70cl bottles-worth of a new, heavily-peated (50ppm) Single Malt that will be the style of whisky produced at the Lagg Distillery.

An artist’s impression of the exterior of the new Isle of Arran distillery in Lagg

Each of casks, priced at £6000, will remain at the distillery for a minimum of ten years of maturation under the careful eye of the Lagg Distillery team.

The casks owners will then have the opportunity to bottle the spirit, complete with a limited-edition Lagg Cask society label, or pay an annual fee to continue the maturation process until the desired age is attained. It is expected that the casks will be laid down in late 2018. No further casks will be made available for sale to the public during the first 10 years of production at Lagg.

Every cask owner will also become a member of the exclusive Lagg Cask Society. Membership guarantees a bottle from the very first cask to be filled at Lagg which is reserved exclusively for the Society.

In addition each member will have their name displayed on the Lagg ‘Wall of Fame’ and receive an invite to the Lagg Cask Society Members Day for a first-look of the distillery and visitor centre before its official opening in spring 2019.

Additional benefits include a free stay at the historic Lagg Hotel, a 12 month Arran golf pass, complimentary tours of Lagg and 10% off all purchases in the visitor centre for 10 years.

The Lagg Distillery visitor centre should look like this

James MacTaggart said: ‘We have incredibly exciting plans for the Lagg Distillery and the Lagg Cask Society offers people the chance to be part of the journey from the very beginning.

‘To own one of the first casks from a Distillery is a rare opportunity indeed and with my years of experience in the industry I firmly believe the Lagg Single Malt will mature into something truly magical.’

Euan Mitchell, managing director of the Isle of Arran Distillery, added: ‘We are proud to be bringing whisky production back to the south end of Arran. The area was a hotbed of distilling, both legal and illicit, during the early nineteenth century and the Arran “waters” were in great demand on the mainland.

‘The Lagg Cask Society is the next chapter of the story of malt whisky on Arran. Their casks will be the first to be filled on the south of the island in over 170 years – a continuation of a long and proud heritage of whisky making on Arran.

‘In releasing these casks, we are inviting people to join the Arran family and lay down an exclusive Lagg dram that they can call their own for a fee in line with prices currently being paid for individual bottles of rare Single Malt.

‘Bottles from the Lagg Cask Society barrels will provide unique opportunities for gifts and investment, the ideal present to lay down for future generations, as well as the simple enjoyment of sampling the finest of spirits.’

Casks will be available directly from the distillery and online HEREwww.laggwhisky.com

The new distillery site and visitor centre at Lagg is expected to open in 2019. Total visitor numbers to both distillery sites are expected to exceed 200,000 by 2020 once the new visitor centre in Lagg has been opened with an estimated combined turnover of over £2million.