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With the most distilleries on the planet, the atmosphere in the Scottish Highlands is an incredibly competitive one. The Glenmorangie distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland has given Bill Lumsden, their Director of Whisky Creation the free license and a fascinating workshop to explore heretofore unknown variations and innovations in scotch whisky. Considering that this is the man whose claims to fame are pioneering cask finishing and actually sending whisky into literal outer space, it’s no wonder that they constructed a cutting-edge experimental distillery: The Lighthouse. The fact that it’s awesome looking is just kind of a bonus.
The Lighthouse, The Laboratory of A Mad Whisky Scientist
Men’s Journal writes,
“The Lighthouse sits at the heart of Glenmorangie’s historic site but is clearly set apart. It rises several stories higher than the surrounding buildings, the stillroom paneled on all sides in sleek glass. The Lighthouse has been equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that enables customization and almost infinite tinkering at every step of the whisky-making process. It’s far beyond what a normal scotch distillery can do.”
“The beauty of this plant is that it’ll let me trial these things,” Lumsden said. “The stills have lots of bells and whistles on them,” he explained “I have the capability to produce a whole range of different styles of spirit—not just Glenmorangie’s classic, floral, delicate style, but a much more full-bodied style.”
Lumsden will have the ability to conduct creatively almost limitless experimentations with yeast, fermentation, and even different mashes ranging from other types of cereal grain to fruits, vegetables, or who knows what else. The imagination soars and the mind boggles at the possibilities. The advantage for the Glenmorangie distillery home of the tallest stills in Scotland is extreme.
Lumsden who pioneered chocolate roasted malt which landed him in hot water with Scotlands Scotch Whisky Association or SWA has teased that he might even work with peat as well, but “It’s not going to be at the top of my list for the time being.” Lumsden has no shortage of ideas. “Inspiration comes basically from anywhere and everywhere,” he says. “I’ve got a very vivid imagination. My imagination often runs away from me and lands me in trouble.” Breaking new ground and bringing new flavors to the world of whisky from one of the oldest distilleries in the world is definitely the kind of trouble that it’s good to be in though.
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