Leven Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Leven Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Leven, Fife, Lowland, Scotland. It was founded in 2013 and is currently owned by Diageo. Unlike most working distilleries, Leven operates as an experimental, small-scale research still integrated into what is otherwise the world's largest Scotch whisky bottling and packaging complex.

History

The Leven site began life in 1973 as a bottling plant, packaging Scotch whisky alongside other Diageo drinks brands such as Smirnoff vodka and Gordon's gin. In 2005 the company added a Process Liquid Development Area (PLDA) for blending and filtration research. The distillery itself followed in 2013, when Diageo installed a small experimental still house, becoming the company's 29th working distillery at the time. Rather than producing whisky for a standalone single malt brand, the Leven still is used to trial mashing, fermentation and distillation techniques that can be rolled out across Diageo's wider malt distillery estate, including those supplying Johnnie Walker and other blends. The wider Leven complex, one of the biggest packaging plants in the world, employs around 590 people and is powered in part by an 8,000-panel solar array. In 2023 staff at the site took part in industrial action over pay.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 2013
• Owner: Diageo
• Status: Active
• Stills: 1 wash still (1,000 L), 1 spirit still (1,000 L)

Core Range

Leven does not produce a standalone single malt brand. As an experimental distillery embedded within Diageo's Leven bottling and blending complex, its output is used for internal research and development rather than sold as a named core range.