The Rebirth Of The Lowlands
Andrew Morrison explaining the construction of The Clydeside Distillery
Throughout my career in the booze business, I can’t remember a single moment where someone specifically requested a Scottish Lowland malt whisky. Never in the thirteen years I spent in retail, my two years in distribution, the seventeen times I’ve been to Scotland, and the countless hours I’ve spent at whisky bars around the world sitting at the counter, did I hear someone ask for a fine Lowland whisky. A Highland malt, for sure. A Speyside malt, no doubt. An Islay malt, hundreds of times. A Campeltown malt, on the regular. But a Lowland malt? Never to me, nor to anyone else I was around. Not in the store, not out for a dram in Glasgow, not during a tasting event; not ever.
To be fair, for the overwhelming majority of that time there were only two prevalent Lowland malts on the market to choose from: Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie. The former is an overlooked and underappreciated staple of the Morrison-Bowmore portfolio now under Beam-Suntory’s hand, while the latter is perhaps the least-known whisky in the entire Diageo portfolio. Granted, back then one could still find rarities from the defunct Rosebank and Ladyburn, some scattered expressions of lost Littlemill, and the occasional independent Bladnoch release if pressed, but never at a bar or in the general market. Even if you could track down a bottle, the motivation was more its rarity than its Lowland provenance.
If you know the story about Springbank’s revival of Glengyle distillery, then you know it’s predicated on a disagreement with the Scotch Whisky Association’s decision to remove Campbeltown as one of Scotland’s five protected whisky regions. The SWA had decided two operating distilleries (Springbank and Glen Scotia) no longer constituted a regional distinction for Campbeltown, yet was allowing the Lowlands to keep its status with only three active producers. Making that case to the SWA, it was decided that three distilleries was the bare minimum. As a result, Springbank reopened Glengyle distillery for the sole reason of saving the Campbeltown classification, therein matching the Lowlands with three working distilleries. This was back in 2003.
By the mid-2010s, however, the Scotch whisky renaissance was in full bloom and expansion was on everyone’s mind. New distilleries were popping up every few months, old distilleries were being refurbished, and the eyes of the industry began looking southward. Frances Cuthbert had added a farm distillery to the Lowlands called Daftmill back in 2005, and William Grant opened Ailsa Bay in 2007, but the rebirth of the Lowlands really took hold in 2014. Over the next four years, a whopping ten new Lowland distilleries would be established, bringing the active total from five to sixteen! But the expansion didn’t stop there. Another five would come online by the end of 2022, raising the tally to twenty-one, and giving whisky drinkers a reason to rethink Scotland’s most under-appreciated region. With almost twenty entirely new malt whiskies to choose from, why weren’t more whisky drinkers talking about this unprecedented rebirth?
From my view, the lack of enthusiasm for Lowland whiskies comes down to a lack of understanding. For years, I thought of the Lowlands as the home of triple-distilled whiskies, only later learning that process applied only to Auchentoshan and the former Rosebank. Both Bladnoch and Glenkinchie were lighter in style, but double pot-distilled just like any other Scottish malt. According to the late whisky writer Michael Jackson, what really differentiated the Lowlands from the Highlands was its lifestyle. Back in the 19th century, rural Lowlanders could make more money selling cattle than whisky, so distilling never took hold the way it did up in the Highlands. The Lowlands grew Scotland’s grains and raised its meat. If a Lowlander was drinking whisky back then, it was likely moonshine.
Jackson did opine on the Lowland style, however, writing: “In the past, Lowland whiskeys were made from a mix of cereals—wheat and oats as well as barley—for the simple reason that there was a wider choice of grains available in this part of the country. The fact that the Lowlands have always had a relatively large population resulted in the use of big stills. All of these factors impacted the Lowland style of whisky, especially the creation of its lighter character. In time, these more delicately flavored whiskeys became what the local populace demanded.”
Despite their demand back then, Lowland malts have been a complete afterthought for enthusiastic Scotch drinkers up until recently. Speyside Sherry bombs and heavily-peated Islay malts have dominated much of the last decade’s demand, but a new preference for what Jackson once described has recently revived itself. An appreciation for delicacy and fine-fruited finesse is starting to take hold once again, following the wine industry’s movement away from high-alcohol and heavily-oaked expressions that clash with many cuisines.
Whereas power and strength once drove growth in the drinks industry, having one’s taste buds obliterated with high alcohol, heavy peat, or Sherry can only last so long. A lighter style Lowland dram, however, can easily serve as an aperitif, a companion to a pint, or a Highball cocktail paired with food. Much like low alcohol wines and session ales have once again found a niche with drinkers who prefer to celebrate slowly over a long meal, easy-sipping Lowland whiskies are satiating a similar audience, those moving away from brute cask strength force and towards a more mellow existence.
That being said, don’t mistake the lighter profile for a simpler spirit. Even the youngest whiskies being released from the Lowlands today offer a precocious concentration and complexity well beyond expectation. Recent releases from The Clydeside and Lochlea have been very well received by customers, as have the newest expressions from Lindores Abbey that are now hitting the American market. Given that most of these Lowland upstarts are independently-owned and stand in stark contrast to the geekier niche market in terms of flavor, the new renaissance is well-timed to combat a declining interest from younger drinkers who show little interest in the status quo. This most certainly isn’t your father’s whisky. According to the late Michael Jackson, it was probably your great grandfather’s.
-David Driscoll
Here’s a quick list of new Lowland distilleries:
Aberargie - 2017
Ailsa Bay - 2007
Annandale - 2014
Bonnington - 2020
The Borders - 2017
The Clydeside - 2017
Daftmill - 2005
Eden Mill - 2014
Falkirk - 2020
Glasgow - 2015
Holyrood - 2019
InchDairnie - 2015
Jackton - 2020
Kingsbarns - 2014
Lagg - 2019
Lindores Abbey - 2017
Lochlea - 2018
Rosebank - 2022 (reopened)