Tony MacLean, brand manager at Luss Distillery, talks architecture, design and the joy of crafting impeccable whisky and gin on the banks of Loch Lomond
This post was written in collaboration with Luss Distillery
“Our ethos is centred around exploration, accessibility and bringing people together through great spirits,” says Luss Distillery brand home manager Tony MacLean. Luss Distillery is a vibrant new spirits destination that goes beyond the traditional distillery tour.
Across four distinctive buildings, you’ll find a working gin distillery, immersive discovery areas for both gin and whisky, a dedicated tasting room, retail space and a café. Each has its own character, but together they form something unlike anything else in Scotland.
Ben Lomond Gin is distilled onsite at Luss, while Loch Lomond whiskies are distilled and matured just a few miles away, so this is a place where visitors can explore, taste and discover each brand’s signature style (with access to exclusive and rare drams too).
“Luss Distillery is unlike most distillery experiences because we’re telling two stories at once: a tale of gin and of whisky, different in almost every way, yet rooted in the same landscape.”
This contrast is what makes Luss Distillery interesting. The more you explore, the more connections you find between place, flavour, craft and character.
Building into the land
Luss Distillery is design-led and very much rooted in place.
The site opened to the public in October 2025 ahead of its official launch by First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, in February this year.
The multi-million-pound build was led by Paul Hodgkiss of Paul Hodgkiss Designs, while Alastair J. Fitchet was responsible for the architectural design. The pair had a shared goal: to create a structure that balanced sustainability, heritage and community in equal measure; a place that belongs to its setting rather than competing with it.
“The Loch Lomond landscape was never just a backdrop — it was the brief,” explains Tony. “And both Paul and Alastair understood this from the word go.”
Careful craftsmanship, from start to finish
Luss Distillery has a Douglas Fir wood exterior, crafted by Gilmour & Aitken, a family-run sawmill next door. It was preserved using Shou Sugi Ban, the traditional Japanese technique of charring wood, to protect it from the elements. The timbers (milled in Alexandria) reveal a distinctive grain that changes with the light, echoing the shifting colours of Loch Lomond itself. The result is a design that feels natural, sustainable and distinctly Scottish. Or, as Tony puts it, “Luss Distillery looks as though it has always belonged on the banks of the loch.”
The same Douglas Fir forms the exposed interior framework at Luss Distillery, bringing warmth, strength and continuity indoors. Colour inside the building follows the same theme: slate greys, soft whites and warm copper tones again perfectly complement the landscape.
Though beautiful, the interior spaces were ultimately designed to immerse visitors in the history of Ben Lomond Gin and Loch Lomond Whiskies, and to spark their sense of adventure. “Here, curiosity is rewarded and local craftsmanship is celebrated at every opportunity, so every decision (from the silhouette of the building to the shade of a timber joint) was tested against the question of whether it felt true to Loch Lomond,” says Tony proudly.
Focusing on sustainability
Luss Distillery partnered with Scottish Water to salvage felled ash, birch and sycamore trees, which were repurposed into the distillery’s furniture and fittings. This approach ensured that the carbon captured during the trees’ lifetimes remained stored within the building’s interior rather than released. “Nothing was forced. If a material or tone didn’t feel right, it wasn’t used,” says Tony.
Nurturing a sense of adventure
A key design feature of Luss Distillery is the ‘beacon’: a clean, diamond motif that appears in exterior structures, windows, furniture and signage. This distinctive diamond is a nod to Ben Lomond, historically known as the ‘Beacon Mountain’, where a fire at the summit once guided travellers across the lands. “That spirit of curiosity runs through everything we do in a very genuine way.”
It is important to nurture this connection between people, place and product? “Absolutely,” says Tony. “Ben Lomond was a meeting point long before it became our namesake gin. The mountain guided people from the four corners of Scotland and this sense of place bringing people together is rooted in our DNA. We didn’t just choose a name for our brand, we chose a philosophy.”
Inimitable taste, distilled authentically
The connection Tony and the Luss Distillery team care about most is the one between the person holding the glass and the world around them. “Whisky and gin have always been social spirits, and our job is to make something good enough to be worth gathering around.” The rest follows naturally.
“Neither Ben Lomond Gin nor Loch Lomond Whiskies follow tradition, both are crafted on their own path.” Loch Lomond Whiskies operate traditional swan neck stills as well as their own unique straight neck stills — a design found in no other Scotch whisky distillery. “Special distillation trays in the necks allow greater contact with the cooling alcohol vapour, giving us a level of control over flavour that conventional stills simply can’t match,” explains Tony.
This control is what gives Loch Lomond Whiskies its signature character: fruit, honey and soft smoke, identifiable in every expression. It’s also what has made it one of the fastest growing single malt brands in the world, and among the most internationally awarded distilleries in recent years.
Luss Distillery
Church Road
Luss
Alexandria
G83 8NZ
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