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Distillation

Lomond Stills and Hybrid Stills

A copper hybrid still with visible bubble cap plates
A copper hybrid still with visible bubble cap plates

In 1955, chemical engineer Alistair Cunningham and draughtsman Arthur Warren designed a still with three perforated plates in its neck, according to ScotchWhisky.com’s Whiskypedia. The Lomond still gave malt whisky makers greater control over reflux, and with it a way to pursue different spirits from a single pot.[4][5]

Lomond stills and hybrid stills combine a pot with extra control over rectification, the separation that takes place during distillation. Plates and column sections give distillers choices, but equipment alone does not determine the legal category. Single Malt Scotch Whisky, for example, must be distilled in pot stills.[1][2][4]

What makes a still a hybrid?

A hybrid is “a pot still with a rectification column attached to it”, according to Bill Owens and Andrew Faulkner in The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. European schnapps producers adopted the design first. American craft distillers followed, drawn by its versatility and suitability for small batches.[2]

The column usually contains stacked copper plates, most fitted with bubble caps. Vapour rises through them while liquid returning downwards is slightly hindered. Most hybrids let the distiller switch plates into or out of use; some also allow the column to be bypassed altogether.[2]

That freedom matters more than maximum rectification. As Owens and Faulkner explain, bypassing the column can produce a pot still spirit with more congeners, the compounds that contribute to spirit character.[2]

For whisky, retaining those compounds can be an advantage. Their account explains that substances treated as impurities in clear spirits can become precursors of desirable flavours during barrel ageing. The task is not simply to strip away everything except alcohol, but to keep material suited to the intended spirit.[2]

For the full journey from fermented liquid to spirit, start with how whisky is distilled. Here, the focus is on what happens when a pot and its attached rectifying equipment work together.

The Lomond still’s adjustable neck

Hiram Walker wanted a light, fruity malt for Ballantine’s, according to the trade history, but space at Inverleven was limited. It installed one Lomond spirit still there, creating the Lomond distillery.[4]

Scapa’s history describes the ambition as making several different flavours from a single pot. Movable copper baffle plates inside a barrel shaped neck offered a way to alter the still’s behaviour.[5]

Lomond stills also went to Loch Lomond, Glenburgie, Miltonduff and Scapa. What happened next varied from site to site: the distinctive neck could survive long after the original internal equipment had changed.[4][5]

Story box: One pot, several possible spirits

Claim: The original Lomond design used movable plates to pursue different spirit characters from one pot.[4][5]

Verdict: Documented

What the record shows: The trade histories describe both the adjustable design and its purpose. At Inverleven, the plates were removed to bring the spirit into line with its sister malt. Scapa’s still ran as intended from 1959 until 1979.[4][5]

Evidence gap: Primary design records are not supplied. The trade histories are undated.

What happened to the original equipment?

Scapa kept the Lomond name and shape, but changed how its still worked. Whiskypedia describes a wash still with its plates removed, substantial copper remaining in the neck and a purifier pipe that increases reflux further.[5]

Inverleven’s plates were also removed, according to the trade reference. A Lomond shaped neck, then, does not necessarily mean the original plate adjustments remain available.[4][5]

The Inverleven still’s later life tells a different story. ScotchWhisky.com reports that Bruichladdich recovered it in 2010 to produce The Botanist gin, rather than Bruichladdich whisky.[4]

In this adapted form, known as Ugly Betty, Difford’s Guide describes the still with its internal baffle plates operating. That account concerns a later stage in its history than the removal of the plates at Inverleven. The guide also records Jim McEwan’s addition of a section containing 80 copper tubes in a honeycomb pattern. Distillation is slow: 17 hours at low, constant pressure.[4][6]

Following a still’s history therefore means tracking three things: its original design, the equipment that survives at a site and the spirit it now makes.

Three disputed points

Which Lomond still retains working plates? Difford’s Guide calls Ugly Betty the last Lomond with working internal baffles; ScotchWhisky.com calls InchDairnie’s the only one in a Scotch distillery with plates.[6][8] The distinction is scope: Ugly Betty makes gin. These accounts leave the overall count unresolved.

What was InchDairnie’s Lomond intended to do? ScotchWhisky.com described it as awaiting connection for triple distillation; InchDairnie describes its use for rye, wheat and oats.[7][8] These are accounts of different stages, with no confirmation that the earlier plan was carried out.

When was Ugly Betty installed at Inverleven? ScotchWhisky.com dates the first Lomond installation there to 1956; Difford’s Guide dates Ugly Betty’s installation to 1959.[4][6] The installation date remains uncertain.

Modern relatives: Fife, Wales and Loch Lomond

These modern designs combine pot distillation with additional rectification, each with its own construction and purpose.

InchDairnie’s Lomond Hill still

InchDairnie’s Lomond Hill still looks like a pot still, but its neck contains six copper bubble cap plates. The producer says Italian manufacturer Frilli made it specifically for InchDairnie.[7]

Its role is precision distillation of grains such as rye, wheat and oats, rather than everyday single malt production. InchDairnie describes the aim as finding the point of optimum flavour and collecting spirit at that particular strength.[7]

Alongside it, InchDairnie has four copper pot stills: two wash and two spirit, each fitted with two condensers. The producer says these provide energy reuse and more copper contact.[7]

Penderyn’s Faraday still

Penderyn says its Faraday still produces spirit in a single distillation, drawing it at 92% ABV. The producer attributes the design to Dr David Faraday, a relative of Michael Faraday.[9]

Both details belong to this particular process. The 92% ABV figure is not a typical strength for every hybrid, and “single distillation” is Penderyn’s description of its design, rather than a description of all pot and column arrangements.[2][9]

Loch Lomond’s straight neck stills

Loch Lomond’s straight neck designs replace conventional swan necks with rectifying columns. A September 2026 report in The Whiskey Wash traces them to American chemist Duncan Thomas and their earlier use at Littlemill.[10]

The report describes two straight neck arrangements, one with cooling rings and one without. It also records continuous copper column stills using 100% malted barley. The grain recipe and the still type are distinct parts of that production story.[10]

For the wider equipment families, see pot stills and column stills. Neither neck shape nor malted barley alone settles the finished whisky’s category.

Single Malt Scotch Whisky must be distilled at one distillery, from water and malted barley only, in pot stills. The Scotch Technical File also requires every distillation to take place below 94.8% ABV, preserving aroma and taste derived from the raw materials.[1]

Whisky made entirely from malted barley in a continuous column at a Scottish distillery therefore cannot qualify as Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The Technical File expressly permits grain Scotch production by continuous distillation of wort made from malted barley alone. A qualifying whisky from one distillery that is not Single Malt falls within Single Grain.[1]

The Technical File describes little rectification during the pot distillation used in the malt whisky process. Column distillation involves some rectification, but the strength limit keeps grain distillate from becoming neutral.[1]

Ireland’s verification scheme makes a different distinction. Pot Still Irish Whiskey must be distilled in a copper pot still. Column equipment may redistil pot still residues, provided the resulting feints return to pot still distillation. Revenue’s checks require columns used in Pot Still or Malt Irish Whiskey production to serve only that residues route.[3]

The word “hybrid” is therefore neither blanket approval nor blanket rejection. The applicable specification and the way the equipment is actually used determine the position, rather than the machine’s informal name.

Common mistakes when reading about these stills

“Loch Lomond invented the Lomond still.” The names invite the connection, but the trade history credits Cunningham and Warren’s work for Hiram Walker. Inverleven came before the later installations.[4]

“A hybrid always makes a neutral spirit.” Many hybrids let distillers disengage plates or bypass the attached column. Extra rectifying equipment offers a choice of how to work, not an inevitable drive towards maximum rectification.[2]

“Ugly Betty makes Bruichladdich whisky.” It is an understandable association given the still’s location, but the cited accounts identify its job as producing The Botanist gin.[4][6]

Where to go next

Sources

  1. UK Government. Technical File for Scotch Whisky, June 2019. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd36667e90e07662ed92c85/Scotch_Whisky_Technical_File_-_June_2019.pdf
  2. Owens, B. and Faulkner, A. “still, hybrid”. The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, edited by D. Wondrich and N. Rothbaum; online dictionary entry. https://www.spiritsanddistilling.com/dictionary/acref-9780199311132-e-687
  3. Revenue, Irish Tax and Customs. Irish Whiskey G.I.: Scheme of Verification Checks, document metadata dated 16 March 2023. https://www.revenue.ie/en/companies-and-charities/documents/excise/whiskey-verification-checks.pdf
  4. ScotchWhisky.com. Whiskypedia: Lomond, undated trade reference. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2005/lomond/
  5. ScotchWhisky.com. Whiskypedia: Scapa, undated trade reference. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/1889/scapa/
  6. Difford’s Guide. The Botanist Islay Dry Gin, undated history section. http://www.diffordsguide.com/beer-wine-spirits/1482/the-botanist-gin
  7. InchDairnie Distillery. Our process, undated producer’s account. https://www.inchdairniedistillery.com/our-process/
  8. ScotchWhisky.com. Whiskypedia: InchDairnie, undated trade reference. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/9330/inchdairnie/
  9. Penderyn Distillery. Our process, undated producer’s account. https://www.penderyn.wales/our-process
  10. Dwyer, P., The Whiskey Wash. Straight Neck Stills and Littlemill Roots: Five Things You Didn't Know About Loch Lomond, 8 September 2026. https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-articles/straight-neck-stills-littlemill-roots-five-things-you-didnt-know-about-loch-lomond/

This article is desk research based on the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing reference scholarship, trade histories, producer accounts and official specification or verification documents.

Last checked: November 2026.