Arbikie Distillery is celebrating success at the Dundee Institute of Architects Awards.
The Angus distillery’s new visitor centre was Highly Commended in the Best Commercial category at the annual awards last month.
Located just inland from Lunan Bay, Arbikie Distillery enjoys outstanding views from its double height wall of glass.
The new visitor centre has a café and gift shop on the ground floor. Upstairs is a high end open-plan dining and entertaining space with a bar. There are two private rooms in the upper level. One of these – nicknamed the cigar lounge – has its own balcony with views out to sea.
Arbikie offers whisky, gin and vodka, and cocktail tasting experiences.
The distillery is aiming for the high end tourist market – there are even plans to install a helipad so golfers can easily travel there from St Andrews.
Arbikie Farm is run by brothers John, Iain and David Stirling. They know a bit about working the land. The Stirling family has been farming since 1660. For the first 250 years they were on the west coast of Scotland then in the 1920s the brothers’ great uncle Bill bought a tract of land near Lunan Bay.
New centre
The new visitor centre was designed by Voigt Architects in Arbroath. Director Jonathan Reeve spearheaded the project.
He said: “As an architect you’re often tempted to create a dramatic contrast with what’s there already but that wouldn’t work in this case. We wanted something that would tie in with the existing building.
“The view made it easy to decide what to do with the sea-facing elevation of the building. We wanted to get as much glass as possible in there.”
Arbikie produces gin, vodka and whisky. Manager Lauren Oliver said: “One of the things that makes us unique is we make our own base spirits. Most gin and vodka makers buy that in.
“We’ve also made Scotland’s first rye whisky.”
As well as rye whisky, Arbikie is also making a single malt. Unlike the vast majority of new distilleries, which usually bottle their first whiskies at three or four years old, Arbikie is playing the long game.
Whisky time
“Our youngest whisky expression will be 18 years,” Lauren continued. “It’s eight years old now so it will be ready for bottling in 2032. We’re lucky in having owners that are happy to take their time to do things right.”
Sustainability is at the heart of what Arbikie does. The gravel in the car park is repurposed from the build. Old whisky staves mark the parking places. And, of course, there are electric car charging points.
Arbikie has just been granted planning permission for the next step in its sustainability journey. “We’re going to install hydrogen power,” Lauren said. “We’ll have a wind turbine across from the distillery and a hydrogen storage tank where the Highland cows are.
“It will make us the only distillery in Scotland to be powered by hydrogen.”
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