Islay's eleventh working distillery — first cask filled 2 April 2026
Laggan Bay is the work of Ian Macleod Distillers, the family-owned Scotch company behind Glengoyne, Tamdhu and the revived Rosebank, in partnership with the Islay Boys. Building a distillery on Islay had been a stated ambition of the company for roughly a decade before ground was broken at Glenegedale.
The site sits beside Islay Airport, looking out over Laggan Bay itself, midway between Bowmore and Port Ellen — the flat, exposed stretch of coast that gives the distillery its name. Islanders arriving by air effectively land at its doorstep.
Production started on 2 April 2026, when Ian Macleod's managing director Leonard Russell, his son Tom and distillery manager Malcolm Rennie filled the first cask. That moment made Laggan Bay the island's eleventh single malt distillery, part of a thirty-year recovery that has also seen Ardbeg and Bruichladdich reopen, Kilchoman and Ardnahoe built from scratch, and Port Ellen return after four decades silent.
Producer-stated and trade-press verified
An Ileach running an Islay distillery
Rennie is a native of Islay who learned the trade at Bruichladdich, Ardbeg and Kilchoman before mainland spells at Glen Moray, Annandale and Lochlea. He was appointed manager of Ian Macleod's Rosebank revival in 2021, and returned to the island to bring Laggan Bay on stream.
Family-owned, four generations
Best known for Glengoyne, Tamdhu and the reconstruction of Rosebank in Falkirk, the company had looked for the right Islay site for years. Laggan Bay is its first distillery on the island, and its first peat-led make.
Laggan Bay was designed from the outset for heavily peated spirit, at a scale — one million litres of pure alcohol a year — that puts it among the larger Islay distilleries rather than the farm-scale operations. Because the distillery only began filling casks in April 2026, no Laggan Bay single malt exists yet: Scotch must mature for at least three years, so the earliest possible release is 2029.
The distillery was built to produce a heavily peated Islay single malt shaped by its exposed coastal position on the Laggan shoreline.
Capacity of one million litres of pure alcohol per annum, a figure stated by the company at the opening.
The site was planned around sustainable water and effluent management, including constructed wetlands to treat liquid waste and support local wildlife, with renewable energy under exploration.
The distillery opened its doors to the public for the first time during Fèis Ìle in May 2026, when visitors were able to see the production hall and meet the team. As a newly commissioned site, its visitor programme is still developing and tours are best confirmed directly with the company before travelling.
Getting there is straightforward: Glenegedale sits next to Islay Airport on the main road between Bowmore and Port Ellen, roughly ten minutes' drive from either.
Ian Macleod Distillers — official site