New Kilchoman warehouse in Conisby completed
The construction of the new warehouse complex in Conisby on the other side of the Rhinns of Islay was completed at the beginning of October. This means that one of the biggest problems for the continued operation of the distillery has finally been solved.
Warehouse No. 1, built in 2005 on the distillery site, had quickly become too small. As it was not possible to build further warehouses on the Rockside farm, the search was on for a suitable site throughout Islay. This was believed to have been found in Conisby, but lengthy negotiations with Argyll & Bute Council were necessary before planning permission was granted. Construction then began in August 2012 (we reported).
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Kilchoman is now finally able to store all its casks in its own warehouses. In the meantime, casks had even been stored in warehouses at other Islay distilleries, such as Port Ellen. The storage capacity of the new two-part Dunnage warehouse is 10,000 casks on 2,400 m2: this is twice the number of casks that Kilchoman has filled to date.
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In recent days and weeks, the challenge has been to reconcile the relocation of the casks with increased production and bottling at the distillery. Nevertheless, good progress has been made and around 3,000 casks have been moved to the warehouse in Conisby so far. Almost all Kilchoman casks are to be transferred to Conisby by the end of the year.
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