Former Laphroaig Distillery Manager, John Campbell, has joined independent family-owned Lochlea Distillery as Production Director and heads up the production team ahead of the release of their inaugural liquid set to launch in early 2022.
Moving to the mainland after 27 years working on his native Islay, John brings his extensive experience and innovative ideas to help shape the future of Lochlea.
John Campbell, Lochlea Production Director, and Master Blender, said, “Moving over to the mainland and joining Lochlea Distillery is an exciting step for my career. It’s an opportunity to develop a whisky that is innovative and distinctive, with a distillery that shares my ethos on quality, environment, and sustainability.
“Getting involved in the process from this early stage means I can help to define what Lochlea becomes. The next few years are going to be incredibly exciting for us and I’m looking forward to us creating something really special.”
Lochlea’s Commercial Manager, David Ferguson, added, “From our first meeting it was clear that John’s values aligned closely with ours as a business. His experience at Laphroaig in growing an iconic global whisky brand over the past 27 years is impressive. Though the most exciting part for me is that he brings new ideas, an emphasis on quality, and an entrepreneurial streak that shone through with the Cairdeas bottlings he was responsible for.
“Having full traceability from growing our own barley through to maturing every drop of our spirit on site is great, but just as important is the team we’re building to develop the brand. John is another fantastic addition and will undoubtedly help us fulfill the ambitious plans we have for Lochlea.”
Lochlea Distillery is the result of a £6m investment and is based at Lochlea farm. Planning of the purpose-built facility began in 2014 and took four years to complete. Production of the liquid started in August 2018 when the first casks were filled and stock laid down in the on-site warehouse.