From Diploma in Single Malt Whisky to Director of Dál Riata Distillery

We’re delighted to see EWA alumni Ronnie Grant as one of three directors behind exciting plans submitted to local authority chiefs for the new Dál Riata Distillery in Campbeltown.

Ronnie achieved our Diploma in Single Malt Whisky in March 2020, shortly before national COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were introduced. He said: “After doing the whisky course, it really did give me the confidence to do something in the whisky industry.”

Together with Dál Riata directors Iain Croucher and David Stirk, Ronnie is set to contribute significantly to the growing renaissance of Campbeltown’s whisky-making heritage.

Iain said: “The addition of this distillery to the Campbeltown region will reinforce the town’s place in the story of Scotch and Dál Riata will be a new chapter to an already incredible history.”

Indeed, the one-time “whisky city” has a fascinating record, documented in our free resource (A History of Campbeltown & Islay) written by the late Professor Michael Moss. Campbeltown spectacularly fell out of fashion as a centre for distilling, with more than 25 distilleries lost by the late 1920s.  

Today, there are only three distilleries on the peninsula: Glen Scotia, Springbank and Glengyle. But with Dál Riata adding to the already announced plans by R&B Distillers (owner of the Islay of Raasay Distillery) to build Machrihanish Distillery, Campbeltown is clearly on the up once more.

We wish Ronnie and the Dál Riata team all the best for this exciting venture!