Boutique Scotch whisky blender Compass Box Whisky has lodged plans for a new distillery in the Highlands.
The London-based firm said the plans also include a visitor centre and blending centre at a site in Lochaber.
Planning documents state the distillery, if approved, will be built on the northern approach to Fort William at Lochybridge off the A82.
The application notes that the west of the site is located within a historic battlefield on the Inverlochy Castle Estate in an area designated for mixed-use development which includes business and tourism.
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Compass Box Whisky was launched 20 years ago by American entrepreneur John Glaser who started off his career in the wine industry in Napa Valley and France.
He then got a job with Johnnie Walker and was sent from New York to Scotland for a ten-day trip visiting a number of distilleries and says he "fell in love with whisky" after sampling Talisker on the Isle of Skye.
He decided to go it alone and launch a blended whisky and started Compass Box from the kitchen of his West London home in 2000.
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Mr Glaser was keen to move away from what he describes as “labels that look like they were designed in the time of Queen Victoria”.
He said: "In Scotland, a lot of people said, ‘hey, you know what, our national drink is not doing very well. We’ll take anybody, even an American who’s trying to create something different with a sincere, unique approach to Scotch whisky, and integrity in terms of quality."
Compass Box’s first release was Hedonism, which was named Scotch Grain winner at the World Whisky Awards in 2020 and 2021.
Plans for the new distillery and visitor centre will go before Highland Council on Wednesday.
Frazer Coupland, chief executive of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, said he had met with the firm recently to discuss its plans.
"It's a great product and a great concept," he said.
"They want to tell the story of blending whisky. They want to start making their own spirit but they've been blending whisky for 20 years.
"As a visitor experience, it would be amazing as no one else is talking about that side of the industry."
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