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Plans for Harris whisky distillery                20/9/11

Plans to set up a new whisky distillery in the Hebrides would create local jobs and use barley grown by crofters.

Anderson Bakewell - an American national resident in England - intends to launch a new Isle of Harris-branded 10-year single malt whisky.

The 62-year-old businessman who lives in Oxford says he wants to create a whisky “of outstanding quality and highly valued by connoisseurs.“

Unlike some larger distilleries, he intends to mature and bottle the whisky on the island rather than ship it out to mainland bases for the finishing process, in a bid to create extra employment on Harris.

Mr Bakewell has made a preliminary approach to Western Isles Council to see if there is any environmental assessment requirements before submitting a future bid for planning permission.

His initial application says he wants to build a distillery of “architectural merit” incorporating a visitor centre on reclaimed land close to a Harris Tweed shop and ferry terminal in Tarbert, the main village on Harris.

It includes a warehouse, service yard and car parking. Tourists would be offered tours around the stills and an exhibition about the process would be displayed in the associated visitor centre.

Over 100,000 bottles of the Harris malt could be produced annually using freshwater from lochs around the North Harris mountains.

Initially barley would be imported from the mainland but Mr Bakewell plans to “create close ties with crofters through a not-for-profit entity, the Harris Maltings, to encourage the growing of suitable strains of barley and offering a ready local market for the crop.”

He says this regeneration will help boost tourism and preserve the fragile social and environment balance.

The stream from Abhainn na Leig tumbles down the rocky hillside past village houses and through the grounds of the Harris Hotel towards the shore where it would be diverted to the distillery before escaping to sea.