Lagg Distillery: Arran's Second Distillery, Built for Heavy Peat

For 24 years Arran had one distillery. In 2019 Isle of Arran Distillers opened a second at the southern end of the island, near the village of Lagg, and gave it a clear job: heavily peated whisky, made from malt peated to around 50 ppm.

Lagg Distillery at a glance

History of Lagg Distillery

The first Arran distillery opened at Lochranza in the north of the island in 1995. For years Lochranza made its peated spirit for only a few weeks a year, which took time away from its unpeated whisky. Isle of Arran Distillers decided to give peat a home of its own at the other end of the island. Ground was broken at Lagg in 2017, and the first spirit ran in spring 2019. The first cask, for a member of the Lagg Cask Society, was filled on 10 April 2019, and the visitor centre opened that June.

The name revives an old one. An earlier Lagg distillery worked briefly in the early nineteenth century before closing in 1837. The first core range from the new distillery arrived in 2022 under the Kilmory name, after the local parish. For the older working distillery on the island, see our Arran guide.

How Lagg Distillery makes its whisky

Lagg runs a semi-lauter mash tun, four Douglas fir washbacks and a single pair of copper pot stills, all supplied by Forsyths of Rothes. The malt is peated to around 50 ppm, so the house style is heavily peated. Peat matters on Arran in other ways too: in 2024 Lagg joined a project with Dougarie Estate and partners to restore 325 hectares of damaged peatland on the island.

Kilmory is matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration. Corriecravie is finished in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 55% ABV.

Lagg Distillery and independent bottlers

Lagg only began distilling in 2019, so its whisky has had little time to reach independent bottlers.

Lagg Distillery and The Single Cask

We do not currently list Lagg casks. If a young, heavily peated island style interests you, tell us what you are looking for and we will say honestly what we can and cannot source.

Plan a bottling inspired by Lagg Distillery

A distillery built from scratch around heavy peat makes a good starting point for a bottling with a clear identity. If that appeals for your own project, use our cask enquiry page to tell us your preferred style, age and budget, or read about buying a whisky cask and the four steps to bottling your own whisky. For something under your own name, our private label whisky service covers that end to end. For related guides, see Arran and Kilchoman.

If you are an independent bottler looking for stock, or you have always wanted a cask of your own, talk to us about what we currently hold in the warehouse. Where we do not hold the distillery featured in a guide, we say so plainly.

If you have questions about any of this, or about Lagg Distillery in particular, our contact page is the fastest way to reach us.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Lagg Distillery?

Isle of Arran Distillers, which also runs the Arran distillery at Lochranza.

Where is Lagg Distillery?

On the south coast of the Isle of Arran, near the village of Lagg.

When did Lagg start production?

Spring 2019. The first cask was filled on 10 April 2019 and the visitor centre opened that June.

How peated is Lagg whisky?

Heavily. The malt is peated to around 50 ppm.

What are Lagg Kilmory and Corriecravie?

The first core range, launched in 2022. Kilmory is matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46% ABV. Corriecravie is finished in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 55% ABV.

Does The Single Cask sell a Lagg cask?

We do not currently list Lagg casks. Tell us what you are looking for and we will say what we can and cannot source.