Roseisle

Roseisle distillery stands west of Elgin, Moray in the Speyside region of Scotland. It was the first major distillery to be built in the country in three decades.

The £40million distillery was created by Diageo to supply spirit for its blended Scotch brands. It is one of the most environmentally sustainable distilleries in the country.    

Roseisle was designed to produce several different styles of spirit. It can be light and fruity, nutty and malty or heavy and oily, depending on the blender's requirements.    

Roseisle is capable of producing around 10 million litres per annum.

The distillery shares its location with Diageo’s Burghead maltings and was designed with sustainability in mind. A biomass plant generates energy using distillery by-products.

The distillery and maltings are connected by pipes. Hot water from the distillery heats the maltings’ kilns. Carbon dioxide emissions are less than 15% of that of a normal distillery.

There are seven pairs of stills within the distillery. Six pairs can switch back and forth between copper and stainless steel condensers. Copper condensers will produce a lighter, purer spirit whilst stainless steel will produce a heavier style.

Fermentation times also vary, depending on the brief. Long fermentation of 90 hours is used when a lighter character is desired. To allow a heavier style, this can be shortened to 50 hours.

To mark the opening of the distillery, Diageo released a blended malt called Triumph. It contained spirit from 27 malt distilleries.

Roseisle has never been bottled as a single malt. In 2017, however, the spirit contributed to Collectivum XXVII. Part of Diageo’s annual special releases, the blended malt contained spirit from all 28 of its malt distilleries.

Most of the spirit produced matures in American oak from the Cambus cooperage.     

Roseisle came online during a tumultuous period. The global financial crisis of the late ‘00s severely impacted whisky sales.

Diageo was confident, however, that the impact would be short-lived, thanks to emerging markets in Asia, Latin American and Eastern Europe.

Worried that a sudden return to growth would leave them short on stock, they commissioned a new distillery. Plans were announced in 2007 and by 2009, the distillery was in production.

The 10 million litre capacity plant immediately overtook Dufftown as the largest of Diageo’s 28 malt distilleries.

Sustainability was a core ingredient in the distillery’s design. The technology installed at the distillery helped to create a blueprint for others to follow.