John Campbell Joins Lochlea Distillery as Production Director
Former Laphroaig Distillery Manager and renowned single malt whisky maker John Campbell has joined the independent, family-owned Lochlea Distillery as their new Production Director.
John announced that he was stepping down from his position at Laphroaig in September, citing wanting to be closer to his family on the mainland and taking up a new challenge at an at the time unnamed independent distillery as factors that played into his decision. John brings his 27 years of experience at Laphroaig to Lochlea.
Planning of the Lochlea Distillery started in 2014 and took four years to complete. Production of the spirit started in August 2018 with the first casks filled and stock laid down in their on-site warehouse. John will be leading the production team ahead of the release of their inaugural spirit, set to launch in early 2022.
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 which 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 fulfil the ambitious plans we have for Lochlea.”
Photo credit: Lochlea Distillery.
Source: Lochlea Distillery.