Lochlea had always been a dairy farm, up until 2006, when Neil and Jen moved here. They farmed pedigree beef cattle until 2014, when they decided that for a farm of this size to be viable, they needed to do something very different.

Barley had historically been grown on the farm, mainly as livestock feed, and so in 2015 they embarked on an experiment: growing 50 acres of malting barley.
Working away quietly, learning from their (not too frequent) mistakes, exploring the possibilities and making contacts in the malting industry, gave them the confidence to make a big decision: to develop and operate a single malt distillery at Lochlea.

Construction began in 2017, converting the former piggery, byre, and midden in the heart of the farm steading into the distillery, and repurposing the cattle sheds into bonded warehouses.They secured all the licenses in 2018, and the distillery was commissioned in August 2018. Since then, they have been growing our barley and the distillery team have been skilfully and patiently making spirit.

Rooted in Scottish history, Robbie Burns called Lochlea his home throughout his formative years, from 1777 until his fathers death in 1784. By day, Burns worked hard on the farm and in the evening, he enjoyed the company of his friends, debating at the Bachelors Club in nearby Tarbolton. The ground here has inspired the honest, passionate, and progressive nature of Lochlea whisky.

The Whisky

Forget your preconceptions about Lowland whisky, Lochlea is different. Using their own barley grown at Lochlea, nurturing a long fermentation and being meticulous with the spirit cut points creates a new make bursting with orchard fruit, and with an elegance beyond its years.

The fruit, biscuit and nutty characteristics shine through in Lochlea new make for a number of reasons. These include raking the mash tun after the third water to create a semi-cloudy wort going into the wash backs, and utilising two different fermentation times (66-116 hours) to get the right balance and depth in the final spirit.

The stills are then run slowly to promote copper contact, Lochlea produce approximately 180,000 LPA using a 2 tonne semi lauter mash tun, 6 Douglas Fir wooden washbacks and 2 bespoke copper stills. All casks are filled on-site, approximately 30 per week, and they are also stored onsite in 3 bonded warehouses.

By using their barley grown on the farm and an on-site water source, Lochlea have full traceability over the ingredients going into the production process, allowing a higher level of quality control and creating a flavour profile unique to Lochlea.

Our Barley

This award winning core single malt expression, Our Barley, sits alongside the seasonal limited-edition whiskies. It is made from and inspired by Lochlea’s own barley.

Production Director John Campbell has carefully honed this recipe using his years of experience, using a combination of first-fill Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry and STR casks. This results in a whole new level of depth and complexity to the final whisky.

Lochlea Our Barley is non-chill filtered with no added colouring.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Pear syrup, fruit bon bons, warm cut grass, marmalade.

Palate: Golden syrup, pepper, rye bread, macadamia nuts, cream soda.

Finish: Long finish with a lasting orange beeswax note.