Diageo has halted production at its Roseisle Maltings in Scotland until at least June next year.
A spokesperson for the Johnnie Walker owner confirmed the development to Global Drinks Intel today (17 November), adding that the group had taken the decision in order to “balance capacity against current demand”. They added that the company will outline future production plans through its standard planning cycle.
Despite the suspension, Diageo says there have been no redundancies, with staff being redeployed to other sites or roles. The maltings suspension is not the first such move by Diageo, which in March announced pauses in production and barrel filling until June at its Lebanon Distillery in Kentucky.
Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard have made similar moves, the former in Scotland with a shift in January to a “shared production model” between Speyside’s BenRiach Distillery and Glenglassaugh in the Highlands region. Two months later, Pernod Ricard temporarily suspended distillation at its Irish whiskey facility in Midleton near Cork.
Roseisle Maltings is closely linked to Diageo’s Roseisle Distillery, located near Elgin in Speyside. The distillery, built in the late 2000s, has an annual production capacity of around 10m litres and was designed to supply spirit primarily for Diageo’s blended scotch portfolio.
Last week, Diageo released a limited-edition bottle design for Johnnie Walker in a tie-up with ‘haute couturier’ Robert Wun.
