Diageo Malt Whisky Distillery, Roseisle, Speyside, Scotland, United Kingdom

When drinks giant Diageo built its distillery in Scotland, it was the first undertaking of its kind in the country for 30 years.

The facility required an investment of £40m and was built at Roseisle in Speyside near the Moray Firth, where Diageo already has a large maltings facility. This area has a tradition of fine malt whisky production.

The distillery became operational in April 2009 and the first whisky will be available in 2012. The plant is expected to generate 25 jobs.

The company also expanded its grain distillery at Cameronbridge in Fife with a further £40m investment and spent £20m expanding bottling and warehousing, much of it at its Shieldhall facility in Glasgow. The total £100m expansion plan is the company's biggest invesetment in Scotland in 20 years.

The company started production in 2009, with the first whisky set to become available in 2012. Diageo's malt whiskies include Cardhu, Singleton, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glen Ord, Glen Elgin, Glenkinchie, Oban, Lagavulin, Knockando, Talisker, Royal Lochnagar, Clynelish, Caol Ila and their blended whiskies include Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell's, Buchanan's, Benmore, Black & White, Dimple, Haig, Old Parr, Vat 69, White Horse and Windsor Premier.

The company has created a flavour map to categorise whisky by taste rather than region in an attempt to demystify the drink and attract new customers.

WHISKY COMEBACK

Whisky has made a big comeback in recent times. During the 1970s and 1980s there was less demand for the product, resulting in overcapacity and the closure of some distilleries.

Since then there has been a solid recovery, boosted by the growth of the whisky market in Asia and South America. There is increasing demand from the Brazilian, Russian, Chinese and Mexican markets.

Diageo now sells seven out of ten bottles of premium Scotch in South America and its sales across the board increased by 20% in 2006. In the global whisky market Diageo's Scotch brands, especially Johnnie Walker, remain the main drivers of growth outside the UK. Sales of Johnnie Walker rose 18% and Buchanan's was up 40% in 2006.

NEW DISTILLERY PRODUCTION

The whisky produced at the new distillery will go into premium and luxury versions across all brands, including its most popular whiskies Johnnie Walker and J&B, along with high-end brands Buchanan's and Windsor. It will increase the company's capacity for Scotch production by 10–12%.

Diageo is already the world's biggest whisky producer with 28 malt distilleries and two grain distilleries. Paul Walsh, the chief executive of Diageo, said: "The investment will expand the company's annual whisky output by 10% or ten million litres… We see a huge opportunity for whisky going forward, particularly at the high end where we need to build up mature stocks."

CONTRACTORS

Design practice Austin-Smith Lord applied to Moray Council for planning permission in October 2006. The building brought together old and new technologies and provides a model for whisky production in the future.

The building reflects the distillery process function. An attempt has been made to break down the mass, scale and visual impact of the distillery to respond to its setting.

The building was designed as a modern interpretation of the traditional still house and is similarly driven by a form which responds to the process requirements and the need to maximise natural ventilation and daylight.

Distillery features

The 3,000m² building contains 14 traditional copper whisky stills.

Waste heat from the distillation process is reused in the maltings plant (located besides the distillery). In case of inadequate energy, there are back-up conventional boilers. The liquid by-products gathered are subjected to water treatment processes in the reclamation plant to produce 300,000m3 of potable water a year.