ORGANIC Architects has submitted a planning application to Highland Council for a new whisky distillery, visitor centre, and warehouse on Mulchaich Farm, located in the district of Ferintosh on the Black Isle.
The proposal intends to bring distilling back to the heart of this ‘once legendary’ whisky producing region of the 18th century – to start the production of Ferintosh whisky again.
The Ferintosh area was once a hugely significant producer of Scotch. In the late 18th century, 1,000 people are said to have been employed in the local distilling industry and it is widely thought Bonnie Prince Charlie drank Ferintosh whisky following his defeat at Culloden.
Bari Reid, director at Organic Architects, said, “Local tradition and archaeological evidence suggests that the ruins at Mulchaich Farm are the remains of one of the original Ferintosh distilleries. Today nothing remains of this lost region which was once Scotland’s biggest whisky producer and the site is used for sheep-grazing as part of the farmland at Mulchaich. The history of the site is the very reason for this proposal coming about, and the research that was carried out for this application has proven that there was distillation on this site.”
Ferintosh whisky enjoyed a booming trade in the 1700s thanks to a tax break granted to the landowner by the King. The local whisky industry collapsed after this privilege was withdrawn in 1786, as lamented in Robert Burns’ poem Scotch Drink.
Subject to planning application approval, the distillery is expected to create up to 30 skilled jobs.
