Case Studies

Insights | Case Studies | Glenmorangie Distillery
Glenmorangie Distillery
Location:

Tain, Scotland

Client:

The Glenmorangie

Industry:

Distilling

Challenge:

Create a variety of spirits under one roof, fostering innovation and experimentation, with the flexibility to scale up or craft limited editions for VIP customers.

Glenmorangie Distillery

About

Described as an ‘innovation centre’, Project Lighthouse was designed to expand Glenmorangie’s capacity to experiment and innovate their whisky production, as well as showcase their work to visiting whisky-lovers.

The challenge

Taking inspiration from the surrounding Scottish coastline, The Lighthouse is a 20 metre glass still house situated right at the centre of Glenmorangie Distillery.

The idea behind it was to create a dedicated space for the Glenmorangie team to venture into and test new whisky products, as well as providing an impressive VIP space for tours and tasting days. This meant that the facility needed to be both a tourist destination and a working distillery – which is where BRIGGS came in.

Our approach

The Lighthouse blends Glenmorangie’s rich history in scotch whisky with its forward-thinking focus on innovation and technology.

Understanding this, the BRIGGS team provided a wide range of distilling and mashing equipment for the distillery. This equipment provided the distillery with the capacity to scale up production based on the success of experimentation, as well as being an impressive feature for Glenmorangie’s guests and team.

Key highlights

  • Equipment Supply and Installation: 2 Fermenters (Washbacks), a Distillery Lauter Tun, a Briggs Steeles Masher as part of the mashing plant, a Wort Cooler, a Low Wines and Feints Tank, a 7-Compartment Spirit Receiver (allowing multiple runs to be collected), plus a Spirit Blending Tank.
  • Sustainability: Sustainability was woven into every aspect of this project, from energy-efficient equipment to sustainable sourcing practices.
  • Showcasing expertise: This project was designed to be inspiring not just for visitors, but for Glenmorangie’s team of whisky developers, too.

The impact

With a dedicated space and market-leading process equipment, the Glenmorangie whisky development team have been able to create new expressions and garner critical acclaim thanks to the addition of The Lighthouse.

The VIP space within The Lighthouse enables the distillery’s frequent guests to enjoy their products within an impressive area that reflects Glenmorangie’s brand, as well as attracting new visitors from across the world.

Not forgetting sustainability, the distillery has also significantly reduced its environmental impact, reflecting Glenmorangie’s commitment to responsible production.

“We were delighted with the Briggs team’s commitment who went ‘above and beyond’ the scope by seeing the project through to completion.

The Glenmorangie site team followed Briggs’ leading stage-gate commissioning approach, giving us the satisfaction that our craft distillery is fully operational.”

– Hamish Fraser, Project Process Engineer at The Glenmorangie Company

Conclusion

Project Lighthouse showcases a real blend between tradition, innovation and sustainability within the whisky industry. This has enabled Glenmorangie to portray how they are not just malt whisky distillers, but experimentalists within their sector.