For Argyll

Diageo, the improbably named owner of classic malt distilleries, including some in Argyll like Oban, and Islay’s Lagavulin alongside the lowland Glenkinchie and Skye’s Talisker, has discovered that 2% of each barrel is lost each year through evaporation as the spirit matures in its porous oak barrels. Traditionally this percentage has been known as ‘the angels share’. The company has spent five years researching this, comparing barrels wrapped in cling-film with those left unwrapped. This showed that wrapping could save around 50 litres of whisky from every barrel over ten years’ maturation. In a project which will save the company over £1 million, Diageo will now wrap 20,000 of its premium malt barrels.