Air Support for Ardbeg

With water being one of the main ingredients of malt whisky it's very important to keep the water running because if it stops distilleries have to stop too. It sometimes happens in spring or summer when water supplies run dry that distilleries on Islay stop their production. This is not the case with Ardbeg who called in the aid of a helicopter to make sure the dam of their water reservoir remains in tact. A quote from the BBC website:

The Ardbeg Distillery on Islay is supplied by Loch Uigeadail some 800 feet above sea level. But the reservoir wall which maintains water levels is crumbling and too much water is seeping away, threatening supplies to the distillery on the coast below. Because of the remoteness of the loch, the construction team has had to draft in a helicopter to airlift 40 tonnes of building materials - including a cement mixer - up to the site. The four-week long reconstruction project should ensure that none of the loch's precious peat-laden water escapes and that the distillery has a guaranteed supply. Ardbeg manager Michael Heads said: "It's one of the raw materials we must have. Loch Uigeadail translates as "the dark place" - it's got very deep, peaty water in it and it's what we require for making our whisky. So it's vitally important."

Update: Mark from Islay Studios sent me an image of the helicopter carrying building materials up the hill to the dam at Loch Uigeadail. This is one of the 42 one ton bags with sand/gravel that will be airlifted to the loch.