A sneak peek into Glenlivet’s brand new stillhouse
One of Speyside’s oldest distilleries is set to open its doors to its latest development next week.
The Glenlivet distillery will unveil their sparkling new stillhouse to members of the public in April - just a month ahead of the 25th edition of Spirit of Speyside festival.
This is the latest development in a series of major additions to the single malt production site after it underwent a major makeover in 2021.
The new stillhouse comprises of 7 pairs of stills - taking the total number to 28.
Marking the 200th anniversary of the Glenlivet, this new addition has allowed the distillery to double its capacity, which now sits at 21 million litres per year, taking it on par with Glenfiddich - also celebrating two centuries in existence. The two distilleries are now the biggest producers of single malt whisky in Scotland.
The Northern Scot was invited along to the first public visit of the distillery.
Tour guide for the occasion, Andrew Simpson, said: “It’s really exciting times for the distillery.
“It’s great to be living and breathing this change, to be part of this part of Speyside’s story.”
The new wash stills are also fitted with heat recovery technologies to capture energy that would otherwise go to waste. It allows the condensers to produce hot water for pre-heating elsewhere and flash steam for recovery back into the still.
A distillery spokesperson said: “Chivas Brothers has plans to enhance its heat recovery capabilities within the distillation process at The Glenlivet in the future.
“It is a part of its sustainability ambition to become carbon neutral in distillation by the end of 2026.”
The distillery will be welcoming visitors on their new Visionary tour - named after its founder George Smith - from April 1, tickets priced at £65.
During the Spirit of Speyside Festival (which runs from Wednesday, May 1 to Monday, May 6) the tour will be available alongside other special events - among which two off-road tours dedicated to the history illicit distilling and whisky smuggling in the area (Livet Illicit and Livet on the Edge) as well as a whisky detectives experience.
You can find the full programme of Spirit of Speyside at www.spiritofspeyside.com/festivals/whisky/events.
