Mobile distillery the perfect blend for whisky on the move
Invention has the capacity to produce 400,000 litres of pure alcohol a year.
The world's first mobile malt whisky distillery has been created by a Speyside engineering company.
Moray-based firm Forsyths claim the invention will transform spirit production and give companies the option to be more flexible about where they make spirit.
The 13m by 13m skid-mounted distillery has the capacity to produce 400,000 litres of pure alcohol a year.
Developed using 3D software technology, it contains all the elements of a traditional distillery; including copper pot stills, and mashing, fermentation and distillation equipment.
It can be broken down to fit into eight shipping containers and three crates - allowing it to be moved anywhere in the world.
The unit has been fully tested and will soon be shipped to a distillery near Tokyo in Japan.
Senior project engineer Kenny Gilchrist said the creation had the potential to be a "game changer".
He said: "It's going to give distillers flexibility to make a quality product wherever they want as long as they have access to water, power and a licence.
"In theory, providing you have those key elements, you could distil in the desert, jungle or Arctic wastes.
"It's easy to move and not too big but still makes a lot of spirit. It is also an extremely cost-effective method for spirit production and can be used in a wide variety of situations."
Two specialists from Forsyths will travel to Japan with the unit and spend several weeks assembling and testing it.
The company has also set up a new office in Hong Kong to deal with demand from the Asian market.
Managing director Richard Forsyth said: "There are multiple merits of this exciting new development. This unit has been assembled, piped, wired and tested in a controlled environment in our workshops in Buckie.
"This affords us a better control on health and safety during the build but also significantly reduces our installation costs when compared to a traditional overseas build."
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