Mossburn Distillers

Whisky Concerns

MARUSSIA BEVERAGES

Based in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Marussia Beverages BV is a producer and distributor of wines and spirits, with subsidiaries in the UK, US, Russia, France, Georgia and Ukraine. Its brands, which include Marmont vodka and the Black Ship blended Scotch, are distributed across 31 countries around the world.

Its UK subsidiary is also owner of Mossburn Distillers, the company behind Torabhaig distillery on Skye and two malt and grain distilleries in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders. It also owns a malt distillery at the Asahi brewery in Japan.

Marussia Beverages BV is a holding company for privately owned Swedish group Haydn Holding AB.

Founded in 2005, Marussia Beverages BV gradually expanded to specialise in importing and distributing wine and spirits across the world. The company works closely with many independent distillers, covering all sectors of the spirits industry.

DISTILLERIES & BRANDS

Black Ship

BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY

Glinne Parras

BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY

Torabhaig

ISLANDS SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Marussia Beverages BV

Siriusdreef 22

Hoofddorp

2132

TORABHAIG

ISLANDS SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Torabhaig is another of the traditional farm steading-turned distillery projects cropping up across Scotland in recent years, though its output is significantly larger than many of its peers.

Skye’s second distillery is configured to produce a traditional island-style malt whisky – medium-weight and medium-peated with a long fermentation in wooden washbacks and plenty of copper interaction providing a fruit-forward spirit.

Every drop of its spirit will be earmarked for bottling as a single malt to begin with, though expect to see some siphoned off for blending further down the line.

Sir Iain Noble, the man who founded Noble Grossart, Scotland’s first modern merchant bank, moved to the Isle of Skye in 1972. He purchased 20,000 acres of land, including a hotel at Isle Ornsay, which had been part of Lord Macdonald’s estate.

Noble – who founded independent blender and bottler Pràban na Linne (Gaelic Whiskies) in 1976 – planned to convert a 19th century listed farm steading at Torabhaig into a distillery. He’d obtained planning permission for the project as early as 2002, though sadly passed away in 2010 before his plans could be realised.

Around the time of his death, Mossburn Distillers, a subsidiary of Dutch drinks group Marussia Beverages BV, was also seeking a site on the island to build its own distillery. While the group hadn’t previously considered the renovation and preservation of a historic building for its project, Noble’s Torabhaig farm steading proved the perfect location.

Mossburn set to work renovating the property, which had become little more than a ruin, in 2013. The steading’s infrastructure took three years to rebuild, while a bespoke removable slate roof was designed to allow access to the two stills for repairs.

Whisky production is due to commence at the distillery in early 2017, though a small visitor’s centre complete with café and retail shop will open to the public from July 2017.

CAPACITY (MLPA) i

0.5

CONDENSER TYPE i

Shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

90 hours

FILLING STRENGTH i

64% abv

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

1.5

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

50ppm

MALT SUPPLIER i

Simpson’s

MASH TUN TYPE i

Semi-lauter

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

72% abv

SINGLE MALT PERCENTAGE i

100% at opening

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Bulb

SPIRIT STILL SIZE (L) i

5,000

STILLS i

WAREHOUSING i

90% palletised; 10% dunnage

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Bulb

WASH STILL SIZE (L) i

8,000

WASHBACK SIZE (L) i

8,000

WASHBACK TYPE i

Douglas Fir

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Allt Gleann Thorabhaig and the Allt Breacach

WORT CLARITY i

Clear

YEAST TYPE i

Dried

Marussia Beverages

Mossburn Distillers

MOSSBURN DISTILLERS LAUNCHES BLENDED MALTS

April 2018

Mossburn Distillers & Blenders, the company behind the new Torabhaig distillery on Skye, has released a new range of blended malts created using bespoke cask bills.

Mossburn Signature Casks Island and Speyside whiskies

Signature Casks: The Island and Speyside blended malts from Mossburn Distillers have both used bespoke casks

The Mossburn Signature Casks Series showcases the typical flavours of Scotland’s traditional whisky regions, through the use of specially coopered ‘Mossburn Casks’, built to accentuate certain characteristics in the whisky.

The first two whiskies in the range are an Island and Speyside blended malt, both of which are bottled at 46% abv without colouring or chill filtration.

The Mossburn Island Blended Malt features a number of malt whiskies distilled on the Scottish isles, that were matured in refill American oak and then finished in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks with toasted virgin European oak heads ‘to provide additional smoky spice’.

The Mossburn Speyside Blended Malt combines mature malt whiskies from a number of Speyside distilleries that were also matured in refill American oak and then finished in oloroso Sherry butts with heavily charred virgin American oak heads, which ‘enhance the richness, depth and spicy vanilla flavours’.

The Island edition will be available for around £40 for a 70cl bottle, with the Speyside edition available for around £44.

Mossburn, which as well as operating Torabhaig distillery on Skye is also in the process of building two distilleries at Jedburgh in the Borders, has also developed a range of independently bottled single malts under the Vintage Casks range.

Initially comprised of seven bottlings, the expressions include 2007 vintages from Linkwood, Inchgower, Blair Athol, Teaninich and Craigellachie, plus 2008 vintages from Ardmore and Miltonduff, all of which have been maturing in Mossburns warehouses.

Whisky Focus - Mossburn & Jedhart Distilleries Get Go Ahead From Scottish Government

Mossburn & Jedhart Distilleries Get Go Ahead

February 2017

Scottish government gives go ahead for the £40 million Jedhart and Mossburn distilleries at the former site of the Jedforest hotel in the Scottish Borders.

The former Jedforest Hotel the new home of the Jedhart Distillery and Mossburn Distillery.

You may recall that back in early 2014 plans were unveiled for a £40 million distillery at the former site for the Jedforest hotel at Camptown, three miles south of Jedburgh in the Scottish borders.

Although the project received the full support from local councillors late last year it still required Scottish government clearance due to flooding issues flagged up by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. I am pleased to say that the Scottish government has now cleared the way for the planned £40m Jedhart and Mossburn whisky distilleries in the Borders to proceed by confirming that it does not intend to intervene in the proposed distillery, allowing the Scottish Borders Council to give the go ahead to the project.

A two phase development at the former site of the Jedforest hotel is being proposed by Mossburn Distillers, the folks behind the new £5 million Torabhaig Distillery on the Isle of Skye which is due to go into production very soon. The project will see two whisky distilleries, a bottling hall, maturation warehouses, offices and a visitor centre constructed, it will create around 50 jobs and should be a huge boost to the Borders both now and in the future.

The first phase of the development which will take place between 2017 and 2018 will see the construction of the Jedhart Distillery and visitor centre, a small distillery built to educate visitors in the craft of making spirit. The Jedhart Distillery still house will have three copper stills and a small café which can cater for 36 people. Five 5,000 square metre warehouses will also be constructed during phase one to store pallets and casks.

Phase two of the project will see the construction of the much larger scale Mossburn Distillery with an annual capacity of 25 million litres per year. While Mossburn will be much larger with a significantly larger production output, the design of the Mossburn distillery will be a mirror image of Jedhart even the cafe at Mossburn will be larger, covering for 140 people and there will be a 120 cover restaurant and an entertainment area. Mossburn will be scheduled to be completed by 2021.

Exact details of the style of malt whisky the new distillery will produce is still unknown but it is likely to be a light Lowland style, but they may surprise us and I hope they do. Mossburn Distillers seem to have the finances for the project and it is not expected that they will be selling new make spirit or producing gin to support their business while waiting for their Scotch to mature.