Lochlea Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Lochlea Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located on Lochlea Farm in South Ayrshire, in the Lowland region of Scotland. It was founded in 2018 and is currently owned by the McGeoch family through Lochlea Distilling Company Limited. The distillery follows a "farm to whisky" model on the land where the poet Robert Burns once lived and worked, growing much of its own malting barley on site.

History

Lochlea Farm was a working dairy and cattle farm run by Neil and Jen McGeoch from 2006. To diversify the estate, the couple began growing malting barley on around 50 hectares of the farm in 2015, which led them to the idea of distilling their own whisky. From 2017, former pigsties, barns and manure pits on the farm were converted into production facilities, and old cattle sheds became warehouses. The distillery secured its licences and was commissioned in August 2018, fitted with two Forsyths copper pot stills. Lochlea released its inaugural single malt, Our Barley, in October 2021, followed by a cask strength expression in May 2023. In October 2023 the distillery won the International Trade Business of the Year award from the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, and in August 2025 it launched its first permanent core range of expressions. The distillery is not currently open to visitors.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 2018
• Owner: Neil & Jen McGeoch (Lochlea Distilling Company Limited)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 1 wash still, 1 spirit still (Forsyths copper pot stills)

Core Range

Lochlea's core range is built around its signature single malt, Our Barley, matured across bourbon, sherry and STR casks, alongside Orchard & Oak (fruit-forward, oak-matured), Dark Briar (a richer, sherry cask-driven expression) and Smoke Without Fire (a gently peated style). All core releases are bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and with natural colour.