Lochside Distillery (Montrose)

Lochside was a whisky distillery in the town of Montrose, Angus, Scotland. It should not be confused with the whisky distillery of the same name, which existed in Campbeltown between 1830 and 1852. The Lochside distillery had a short life, from 1957 to 1997. Lochside started its life as a brewery in the early 19th century. It wasn’t till 1957 when Joseph Hobbs converted it to start producing whisky, where he installed a 67-foot (20m) Coffey still. During the first few years this was the only product of the distillery, then in 1961 two wash stills and two spirit stills were purchased and installed enabling the production of malt whisky. As grain and malt whisky were now both made in Lochside, Joseph Hobbs mixed them after the distillation and had this mixture poured into barrels for maturation. The only official bottling from Lochside was a 10-year-old single malt which was sold in 1987, a few short years before the distillery closed. There was also a short-term single blend under the “Scott’s Selection” label, which was made with grain and malt whisky from the distillery. The distillery character of Lochside is described as floral, honey-sweet and with tropical fruit notes.