High tech "Bond-esque" distillery unveiled in Easter Ross
Take a look inside Glenmorangie's new whisky 'lab'
A glass tower distillery which will be used for creating new whiskies has been unveiled in Ross-Shire.
Standing at 20m high, Glenmorangie's latest creation in Tain has been built to adapt on the classic single malt.
Described as a 'purpose-built sensory laboratory', the 'Lighthouse' includes two 8m high stills, which stretch through three different levels.
Although the Forsyths built stills have been made to model Glenmorangie's traditional stills, they can be adapted so creators will be able to control all parts of distilling.
Looking over the Dornoch Firth, the building's been named as a tribute to the various landmark lighthouses which are dotted along Scotland's coastline.
Lighthouse is an is an "experimental distillery."
Director of Whisky Creation at Glenmorangie, Dr Bill Lumsden, will be working with his team in the facility.
Dr Lumsden said he was initially wanting his top secret lab to be in an "anonymous shed."
He said: "There are some things that I’ve wanted to do, but simply cannot do in the main distillery.
"Either because I can’t get access to it because we need it to make classic Glenmorangie or we don’t have the right equipment.
"So this facility is an experimental distillery."
Focus on "delicious flavour"
To preserve the secrecy of the whisky work Dr Lumsden will be carrying out in the Lighthouse, the building will not be open to the public.
"Not even Thom, our CEO, knows everything I’m going to be doing in there", he added.
"At the end of the day, we might not even tell people how we’ve made some these products.
"We just want people to focus on the delicious flavour.
"I don’t even quite know what I’m going to be doing there yet, so it’s almost a secret from myself."
Local benefits
Despite the facility not being open for visitors, Dr Lumsden hopes The Lighthouse's sheer presence will dazzle whisky lovers and says there was a notable local input into the project, including Rothes based Forsyths.
He said: "This area has become very popular in the last few years with the North Coast 500 and such like.
"Hopefully this will add to that and it’ll be something new and different for people to see.
"Nearly all of the contractors were as locally sourced as we could make it.
"Forsyths are absolutely the best in the business at making stills and copperwork, so it was almost a no brainer to use them."
Element of James Bond in Highland distillery
The inspiration behind one of Dr Lumsden's creations, Glenmorangie's Signet, was based on the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee James Bond drinks in the Ian Fleming novels and feels there's an element of 007 to the new Highland distillery.
He said: "It’s really quite high-tech compared to the main Glenmorangie distillery so from that perspective there is a Bond-esque feel to it.
"Even just the appearance of it here would not look out of place in one of the Bond sets."
Lighthouse key to Glenmorangie's future plans
President and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, Thomas Moradpour says the Lighthouse is just the start of their ambitious plans for growth.
He said: "Global demand for Glenmorangie is growing significantly.
"The first of its kind, our Lighthouse 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."