Tobermory to cease production for two years

South African drinks group Distell is to close its Tobermory distillery for up to 24 months as the company carries out refurbishment work on the site.

Tobermory distillery will close for up to 24 months

In order to carry out upgrade works to its distillery and visitor centre, Tobermory will stop production on Friday 31 March 2017. The visitor centre will remain open and continue to host tours throughout this period.

The distillery, located on the Isle of Mull, operates two production cycles during the year to produce Tobermory and Ledaig malt whiskies. Tobermory’s flagship 10-year-old expression will now only be available for purchase from the distillery’s visitor centre.

Distell said it intends to “invest further in their future as premium malts” following the upgrade, adding that the roles of the Tobermory team will be “protected as far as possible”.

“We recognise the time during which the refurbishment is taking place will create substantial change for the distillery team and that is why we have come up with different options to accommodate people’s personal situations and continue to financially support them during this time,” said Distell’s European managing director, Fraser Thornton.

“We are delighted to have a new general manager for malts joining us in the coming weeks who will provide some fresh impetus for our malt portfolio generally and Tobermory and Ledaig specifically.

“An exciting new chapter will be revealed at the end of this and we want everyone to continue to be part of this journey.”

While the refurbishment work is carried out, sales of Ledaig 10 Year Old and 18 Year Old will continue, and a range of limited editions from both brands will be released over the next two years.

“Whisky tourism continues to thrive with numbers across the industry increasing on average by 20% over the past five years,” added Thornton.

“Tobermory has demonstrated even stronger growth in visitors and we want to invest in the only distillery on the island and continue to ensure it produces some of the best island malts in Scotland, as well as a truly memorable experience for visitors.”