Single malt Scotch producer Glenmorangie has opened The Lighthouse, a new cutting-edge “whisky lab.”
“It is a new home of imagination,” said Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation who will head the experimentation team at the Lighthouse.
“Here, we’ll indulge our most fantastical ideas as we strive to create a whole array of different flavours. We will play with raw ingredients and make small adjustments and big changes in ways never tried before. Nothing is off-limits, as long as it’s delicious.”
He said there are things that they wanted to do, but could not do in the main distillery, which has a capacity of 500,000 litres of alcohol.
“Either because I couldn’t get access to it because we need it to make classic Glenmorangie or we don’t have the right equipment,” he said.
Biogas will be used to power part of the new distillery; a new landmark for the site where Glenmorangie has been creating its single malt since 1843.
It will start operations next month, with aged spirits made from the distillery expected to reach the African market in a decade.
“New-make spirit in the Scotch whisky industry is usually categorised, so Glenmorangie’s classic flavour profile is floral and fruity, whereas others might be waxy, sulphurous, peated, all these things. So, The Lighthouse will allow me to create the full spectrum of spirit styles.”
To mark the opening, the whisky producer released a soft and fruity whisky, limited to 3,000 bottles available only at the distillery.
Aged 12 years in Bourbon and sherry casks now encased in the Lighthouse’s walls, Glenmorangie Lighthouse whisky retails at Sh12,880 a bottle.
Thomas Moradpour, president and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, says the Lighthouse is just the start of their ambitious growth plans.
“Global demand for Glenmorangie is growing significantly. The experimental distillery is the keystone of our plans to stay at the forefront of taste innovation.
“By giving our talented creation team free rein, we will welcome even more consumers worldwide to enjoy delicious whiskies.”
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