When Michael and Katie Morrison founded Isle of Barra Distillers in 2017, they always intended to move into whisky one day. They didn’t expect that day to come quite so soon, however. It was customer and community reception to their spirits (which until now has included gin, vodka, and rum) which made distilling Barra single malt a less-distant prospect.
Planning for the new £12 million single malt distillery on the westerly Scottish island of Barra began in 2021, and after years of work behind the scenes, the team are due to break ground on the new site in January 2025. The work is groundbreaking in another way: it will be the first (legal) whisky distillery on the island.
To the Morrisons, Barra — the filming location of 1949 whisky romp Whisky Galore! — was always going to be the perfect place for a whisky distillery. “It'll be huge for the island,” says Michael Morrison. “Such a landmark kind of building, such a kind of history with Whisky Galore!, that kind of background story… I just think Barra is screaming out for a single malt whisky distillery.”
Once complete, the distillery will have its own bottling site and bonded warehouse, as well as a visitor centre with hospitality and retail offerings. Isle of Barra expects to produce around 200,000 litres of pure alcohol per annum, with capacity to fill 1,600 casks each year.
Works were originally scheduled to begin in October 2024, but an archaeological discovery postponed the start. During the last stages of preparation, a survey uncovered pottery estimated to be 3,000 years old. A team of archaeologists is currently onsite studying the area, which they believe could have been used to dispose of rubbish from an ancient settlement nearby.
Despite the delay, Michael enjoys seeing physical work happening on the site after the years of preparation. “It's really quite nice to actually see diggers on the ground and quite a bit of movement there, because we’ve always been working towards this since we obviously started [in 2017], but then really pushing on since early 2021,” he says. “Going through all that process, to actually see something physical happening is really nice.”
A key goal of the new distillery has been to provide value to the island’s local community. Barra has a population of 1,200, but opportunities can be limited and many people — including Michael and Katie, at one time — leave the island to seek better employment prospects and housing. In the first year of the distillery project Isle of Barra expects to create 14 new jobs, with plans to grow to 40 jobs by year 10. It’s a relationship of exchange: the support from the community is part of what has enabled the Morrisons to grow their Barra distillery.
“The support we've had has been so, so vital to the whole thing,” says Michael. “To be honest, the community's really got behind the project… There's really nothing like this on Barra. It will be a landmark building in terms of employment opportunities, and just breathe huge amount of life into a remote community on the west of Scotland.”
Michael adds, “Whisky’s such a prominent thing in Scotland and across the world, so to be able to put Barra on the map, it’s really special. You know, we've got a huge opportunity to do that, and I think we owe it to the island to certainly go ahead and do it.”
Currently, the distillery expects to be running its first whisky distillation in late 2026, meaning the first Barra single malt may be coming of age in next five or six years; a huge milestone promising exciting times ahead for the island distillery. The whisky style that Morrison envisions is one that reflects the different aspects of Barra, from its rugged nature to tranquil beaches. Final flavours are a long way off, but Michael thinks the core style is destined to be a “softer”, unpeated whisky with salty, maritime notes coming through.
To whet whisky lovers’ appetites before the anticipated single malt, Isle of Barra is launching two blended whiskies, the results of its distillery team’s early forays into whisky making.
The first is the non-age-statement Barra Blended Scotch, blended from whiskies aged in casks including second-fill Sauternes and first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry. The distillery says the resulting flavour profile has a balance of fruity, sweet, and spiced notes: orange blossom, vanilla, pancakes with golden syrup, pepper, ginger, and lemon zest are all highlighted.
Released alongside the blended Scotch is the Barra 10 Years Old Blended Malt, which Barra says has flavours of banoffee, cardamom, cinnamon, walnuts, red fruit, marzipan, coffee, and Turkish delight.
“It's really exciting because the spirits we do already, we love working with them, but whisky's totally different,” Michael says, reflecting on the distillery’s first whisky releases. “You know what it is when you walk in a whisky distillery and you get the smells and stuff like that. It's just totally different.”
Barra Distillers Blended Scotch (46% ABV, £45) and 10 Years Old Blended Malt (46% ABV, £70) will be available from Monday 9 December via isleofbarradistillers.com.
