From brewery plan to distillery
In October 2019 The Islay Boys, a bottler that buys whisky from distilleries and bottles it under its own labels, planned a whisky and rum distillery at Glenegedale.
Peated
Laggan Bay is a single malt whisky distillery beside Islay Airport at Glenegedale, on Islay, and it filled its first cask on 2 April 2026.1,2,3 The Russell family's Ian Macleod Distillers owns it in partnership with The Islay Boys.4,5,6 It was designed to make 1 million litres of pure alcohol a year of heavily peated spirit.2,6
In October 2019 The Islay Boys, a bottler that buys whisky from distilleries and bottles it under its own labels, planned a whisky and rum distillery at Glenegedale.
By May 2024 building was under way, and work was due to finish in 2025, when the first spirit would flow from handmade copper pot stills.8,11,12 Warehouse 1 was nearly finished, and the plans included wetlands to treat the distillery's waste water and give local wildlife a home.8,11,12 The opening slipped from 2025, and on 2 April 2026 managing director Leonard Russell, his son Tom and manager Malcolm Rennie, an Islay native, filled the first cask.1,2,3
Its horizontal condensers, which turn vapour back into spirit, capture heat from distilling and reuse it to warm water for other steps.13 Its spirit is laid down to mature on the island.14
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