KEY POINTS:
Scotland's distillers are in hot water as they struggle to satisfy the world's growing demand for whisky.
The global thirst for "a wee dram" rose to an all-time high last year, with exports reaching 2.8 billion ($7.64 billion), earning Britain 90 a second.
And as the pound's slump
continues, those heady numbers could rise further, say analysts.
But meeting this extraordinary demand has posed major problems and forced manufacturers to launch an urgent construction programme that will see the opening of Scotland's first major new distillery for more than 30 years.
Built on a vast industrial scale, the plant at Roseisle on Speyside will be one of the country's largest distilleries. More than 120m long and three storeys high, with 14 huge 6m-high copper stills, it will have a combined output of 10 million litres of whisky a year.
The distillery - financed by drinks conglomerate Diageo - has been built to stringent ecological standards, emitting only a fraction of the carbon dioxide produced by standard distilleries. Roseisle will be Scotland's first green distillery.
"Apart from emitting only 15 per cent of the carbon dioxide of a standard distillery of the same size, we have found a way to recycle all the water that passes through the Roseisle site," the distillery's designer, Mike Jappy, said.
The idea of making whisky in an ecologically friendly way could be crucial if the industry is to expand to meet the demand for Scotch.
In 2007 overseas sales rose by 8 per cent on the previous year, accounting for 25 per cent of all Britain's food and drink exports. The first nine months of this year saw a 10 per cent increase.
"We will have to see how that plays out over the next year, but the situation is very encouraging," said a spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association. "Consumers round the world may be saying 'no' to a new house and a new car, but they are continuing to say 'yes' to bottles of whisky.
Whisky has become especially popular in emerging nations such as Brazil, China and India, where it represents prestige and social status.
However, the sudden rise in global demand caught distillers by surprise and triggered investments of more than 500 million to boost production.
"Everyone has ramped up," said Brian Higgs, Diageo's malt distilling director.
Construction of Roseisle alone will cost 40 million.
"After 30 years of industry retrenchment, it was fantastic to get an order like that."
The distillery's output will be stored in wooden casks for a minimum of three years - more likely for at least five to six years - before it is ready to be mixed with grain whisky to make blended whisky. Brands will include Johnnie Walker, the world's biggest-selling Scotch, sales of which broke the 1 billion mark last year.
A WEE SUSTAINABLE DRAM
* Distilleries usually burn oil to distil fermented brews of malted barley and water. Roseisle will also burn the dried remains of its basic barley ingredient to generate that heat, halving its fuel bill.
* In addition, liquids left over from distilling - known as top ale - will be piped into anaerobic fermenters to generate methane. This, in turn, will be burned to provide further heat. The distillery will be linked with two local maltings, where its waste water will be used to dampen and germinate the barley that is eventually used as its basic ingredient. This will mean there will be no overall increase in water consumption when the new distillery comes on line.
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