Witchburn Distillery – Planning Permission Granted

We are delighted to be able to share with you the exciting news that the planning permission for the Witchburn Distillery has been finally granted from Argyll & Bute council. The single malt whisky distillery will be built at the former RAF Machrihanish Airbase in Campbeltown, located between Campbeltown Airport and Machrihanish Village.

The new Net Zero carbon production distillery - which will produce 2 million litres of alcohol per year, with the potential and scope for expansion to 4 million in the future, will be powered by 100% green renewable energy sources and the latest in heat and energy recovery systems, making Witchburn one of the most environmentally friendly distilleries in Scotland.

When complete Witchburn will operate with 1 Mash tun - with a capacity of 5 tons; 16 Washbacks - each with a capacity of 30,000 litres, allowing for a fermentation period of 96 hours or more; 2 Wash Stills – each with a capacity of 16,000 litres and 2 Spirit Stills – each with a capacity of 7,000 litres.

Witchburn, which is the brainchild of Brave New Spirits founders Adam Hochul and Alexander Springensguth, will have its production headed by Founding Master Distiller, Andrew Nairn, former Distillery Manager of Glenkinchie, Strathmill and Borders Distillery. It will use traditional distilling craftsmanship to produce unpeated, lightly peated, and heavily peated malts.

The distillery will operate with a carefully planned wood policy, with the majority of its spirit to be filled into Bourbon barrels and selected Sherry casks, also a couple of wine barriques, mostly used to mature sweet wines before sending over to Witchburn Distillery for filling. Witchburn will mature its casks in on-site warehousing close to the sea and in warehouses in the Campbeltown area.

You can follow Witchburn journey by subscribing to the Witchburn newsletter, and also on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter / X.

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