Farm-to-cask Ayrshire distillery Lochlea is delighted to announce the appointment of Jill Boyd as their new Master Blender.

Boyd, originally from Elgin, is an award-winning blender who previously worked at William Grant & Sons as a Laboratory Analyst, before joining Compass Box as Whisky Maker and Brand Ambassador in 2017.

In 2020 she was awarded the title of Master Blender of the Year at the Scottish Icons of Whisky Awards. In her new role, Boyd will oversee the creation of all new Lochlea whiskies, as well as maintaining current award-winning spirit standards.

On joining Lochlea, Jill said:

“I am so thrilled to become part of the incredible team at Lochlea. With passion and enthusiasm at the heart of everything they do, I cannot wait to contribute to their journey and help to shape the future of their exceptional whisky.”

Owner of Lochlea, Neil McGeoch, adds:

“I am very excited that the opportunity arose for Jill to join the Lochlea team as our Master Blender. Her breadth, depth of experience, and her success in blending at Compass Box in particular, gives me great confidence that Lochlea whisky is in very good hands.”

About Lochlea Distillery:

Lochlea was originally a 222-acre livestock farm before being purchased by Neil and Jen McGeoch in 2006. After much consideration of the future of the farm and a successful trial to grow its own barley in 2015, the couple transformed the land and existing farm buildings into a fully operational distillery in 2017 and started distilling the following year. The farming side has remained a unique part of Lochlea, with the move into barley production – paving the way for Lochlea to be one of the very few fully grain-to-cask distilleries in Scotland. It also has a rich Scottish heritage with strong links to Robbie Burns, with the bard having worked and lived on the farm a several years.

For a full list of Lochlea stockists, visit: Lochlea Distillery stockists

Lochlea Distillery has recently won the following awards:

• Our Barley: Platinum (Las Vegas Global Spirit Awards)

• Our Barley: Gold (Great British Food Awards)