Production has started at Scotland’s newest distillery, bringing new life to a site in Moray which lay dormant for more than 14 years.
Dalmunach, which is based at the former Imperial Distillery at Carron on Speyside, has provided a number of jobs in the construction phase, with more expected to be created in other sectors now the plant is up and running.
Moray MP Angus Robertson, who is vice-chairman of the all-party whisky group at Westminster, said the business was providing a welcome boost for the region.
“The investment going on in Speyside in the malt whisky sector is at record levels and Chivas’ Dalmunach Distillery is one of the biggest individual investments to date,” he said.
“The construction alone has already supported a significant amount of work in the region and with an increased staff at Chivas to run the new distillery and the long-term work for supply chain businesses this is great news for Moray Speyside and for Scotland as a whole.
“With numerous major investments from the distillery companies operating in Moray there is a massive investment going on.”
The region’s MSP, Scottish Government Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead, said: “Our iconic food and drink sector and, in particular, the malt whisky industry continues to go from strength to strength.
“From substantial investment in increasing production at many of our distilleries in Speyside to the tens of millions invested by Chivas in this one new distillery project alone we are seeing a total investment in our region of hundreds of millions if not in excess of a billion pounds in a relatively short space of time.
“The confidence in a sector which has to look many years ahead for its return is fantastic for investment and jobs.”