Lochside Distillery

About the distillery

Lochside was a malt whisky distillery in the Highlands, founded in 1957 in a converted brewery building. It was run with unusually high efficiency and had its own bottling line, and it is precisely the combination of industrial precision and a classic Scottish distillery character that makes the place noteworthy. Today, residential development stands on the grounds, but the name lives on through the few official bottlings and rare independent bottles.

History

Lochside was founded in 1957 by Macnab Distilleries Ltd. The distillery came about by converting the former Deuchar's Beer brewery into a malt whisky facility, and in its first years operations were handled by the legendary Joseph W Hobbs, who was also known from Ben Nevis. When Hobbs died in 1964, his son Joe took over management. During his time, production was halted in 1971, after which the site was put up for sale. In 1972, the Spanish company Destilerias y Crianza del Whisky bought the distillery and restarted production. The last bottling took place in May 1992, and afterward the site was mothballed. Allied Lyons later bought Pedro Domecq in 1994 and renamed the company Allied Domecq, which had plans to revive Lochside without it coming to anything. In 1997, all equipment was removed, and in 2005 the buildings were partially destroyed by fire and were then completely demolished. This marked the end of a distillery that, during its active period, was both efficiently run and unusually modern in how it handled bottling.

Raw materials and production

Lochside used barley as its raw material and employed unpeated malt. The barley was purchased from an industrial supplier in Edinburgh, while the original barley was selected from Lowlands farms. The water came from the Borebold aquifer beneath the distillery. Production took place in a compact setup with two wash stills and two spirit stills, all with 20,000-liter capacities, with onion-shaped bottoms and traditional swan necks. The plant also had grain stills, but they were not used often. The mash was made in a cast iron mash tun, and fermentation took place in open stainless steel washbacks. The combination of these elements points to a distillery that worked practically and efficiently rather than experimentally, yet still had its own profile through the raw material, the water, and the efficient operation.

Maturation and cask types

Lochside’s malt whisky was matured in ex-bourbon casks and aged in dunnage bonded warehouses. This is a classic and relatively clean maturation framework that suits a distillery focused on simple, consistent production. There is no evidence of a wide range of cask experiments, but the recorded independent bottlings show that the whisky could also handle longer maturation, such as the very old Adelphi releases at 46 and 47 years.

Whiskies

Lochside’s official range consisted of 10-, 18-, and 31-year-old single malts, and in addition, a few notable independent bottlings are known. That makes the portfolio narrow, but interesting: a classic three-step program from the distillery’s active years, supplemented by rare bottles from names such as Adelphi and Gordon & MacPhail. For collectors, Lochside is therefore above all a name from the closed chapters of Scottish history, where the official bottles are difficult to find, and where each individual bottling carries clear historical value.

The style and tasting profile of the whiskies

Lochside’s character gathers itself around herbs, flowers, and malt on the nose, while the palate moves toward citrus, grapefruit, honey, and vanilla. Spices, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg add edge, and in the finish you get sherry, nuts, fruit, and oak. This gives the impression of a whisky that can be both bright and dry, but also sweet and spiced in multiple layers.

Visiting the distillery

Lochside cannot be visited. There is neither a visitor center, tours, tastings, a shop, nor a restaurant, and the site has now been completely demolished. So for those who want to get to know Lochside, the meeting happens through the bottles and the history, not through a physical visit to the address.

Philosophy and craftsmanship

Lochside’s working method was characterized by efficiency and practical choices. The McNab operation had its own bottling line, which was unusual for the period, and the facility was built around a simple raw-material profile with unpeated malt, local water, and a compact still lineup. This creates a picture of a distillery where the craft had to function safely and efficiently from raw material to bottle.