Few Scotch whisky distilleries have built their identity around experimentation quite as decisively as Loch Lomond Whiskies.
The multi-award-winning Scotch distiller, consistently recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing, prides itself on pushing the boundaries of whisky making, combining time-honoured techniques with innovative thinking and an exceptional breadth of capabilities, all rooted in a piece of engineering found nowhere else in Scotch whisky.
In a time-honoured craft where distinction can be hard to pinpoint, Loch Lomond Whiskies sets itself apart with its straight neck stills, first installed in 1966 and still shaping every single dram made on the banks of the loch today.
This year marks 60 years of these stills, and with them, 60 years of a distillery built on a conviction that flavour can be shaped at the point of distillation, not left to the cask maturation process alone.
A Rich History of Whisky Making
The Loch Lomond Distillery holds a fascinating history, as intriguing and rich as the Loch Lomond landscape itself. It can trace its roots back to 1772 to the old Littlemill Distillery near Dumbarton, and by 1814 the Loch Lomond Distillery was taking shape at the north-western end of Loch Lomond. In 1966 a new chapter was penned as the Littlemill Distilling Company opened a distillery on its current site in Alexandria where Loch Lomond Whiskies is made today. It was here that original owner Duncan Thomas commissioned a set of stills unlike any other in Scotland, transforming a distillery with a remarkable location into one with a capability to match.
Walk through the stillhouse today and you’ll find three pairs of straight neck pot stills, two traditional swan neck stills, a continuous malt still and two pairs of continuous grain stills, backed by one of only four remaining on-site cooperages in Scotland.
The comparison to a Willy Wonka factory is surprisingly apt. There is an almost limitless sense of possibility in a distillery capable of turning its hand to so many different forms of spirit from unpeated or heavily peated, single malt or single grain, light and floral or heavy with smoke. Indeed, Loch Lomond is the only distillery in the world making a peated single grain style of whisky.
Where Flavour Begins
The straight neck stills lie at the heart of this extraordinary versatility. Unlike the familiar swan neck pot still, their design combines a pot still base with a straight neck incorporating perforated copper plates and a cooling ring. These features increase reflux, allowing the distiller greater influence over which characteristics make it through the still.
Crucially, the stills can operate across an exceptionally broad range of spirit strengths, reaching as high as 90% ABV compared with around 70% from a conventional swan neck still. This variation gives Loch Lomond’s whisky makers another means of controlling the character of the new make.
For Master Blender Michael Henry, that means flavour decisions can be made long before the spirit enters a cask. Fermentation, distillation and maturation all contribute, but the straight neck stills provide an unusually powerful starting point. Their influence is evident in the lighter, fruit-driven character that runs through much of the Loch Lomond Whiskies range.
Awards That Keep Pouring In
It might be a different way of doing things, but the Loch Lomond style is recognised globally for the quality of the spirit. Boosting a long list of accolades from the International Wine & Spirit Competition to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, industry experts consider its spirts to be among the best in the world.
Loch Lomond Whiskies 12 Year Old Perfectly Balanced is the clearest expression of the distillery’s house style, offering notes of fruit, honeyed sweetness and soft smoke. Crafted using both its unique straight neck stills and more traditional swan neck stills, before being aged in three varieties of American Oak casks, it has achieved several Gold Awards on the international stage. Meanwhile, Loch Lomond Waypoint 31 Year Old demonstrates its capabilities in older aged whisky. The oldest peated single malt ever released by Loch Lomond, it is crafted solely in the straight neck stills to create a heavily peated style of spirit that is rarely seen within the Loch Lomond collection. Launched on 1 September 2026, it is limited to 2,600 bottles worldwide and recently received 99 out of 100 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026.
Six Decades, One Continuing Experiment
The straight neck stills were installed in 1966 and remain fundamental to Loch Lomond’s approach six decades later. Their longevity is testament to the driving vision that innovation is most valuable when it changes what can actually be made.
This spirit of innovation will be celebrated during Golden Week, running from 7 to 14 September 2026, when whisky drinkers around the world will be invited to discover more of Loch Lomond’s range through sampling and retailer promotions. Marking 60 years of the straight neck stills, the initiative offers a fitting opportunity to experience the result of six decades of experimentation.
For more information about Loch Lomond Whiskies, visit www.lochlomondwhiskies.com
Read the full article at Six Decades of Pushing Boundaries at Loch Lomond Whiskies
