New whisky venue could come to Inverness city centre
Plans to create a new whisky experience in a former city centre comic book shop have been lodged with Highland Council.
The planning application is seeking to change the use of the unoccupied unit at 51 Church Street - formerly hosting Heroes For Sale and only a few steps away from award -winning whisky bar The Malt Room - into a “high-end Scottish Malt Whisky Experience” which will include tasting and training rooms as well as a small retail area.
It was submitted by Kirkcaldy-based Davidson Baxter Partnership earlier this month and is currently under consultation.
The proposal states: “The experience would very much be focused on local whisky and distilleries from the surrounding Highlands and Islands as well as stocking old and rare whiskies from across Scotland for the whisky lover.
“The site would be drinks-focused and there will be no requirement for a commercial kitchen however there will be a small food preparation area to allow small snacks to be prepared to enhance the whisky tasting experience.
“The frontage would be fully refurbished bringing a welcome uplift to the Church Street façade.
“This would further enhance the thriving hospitality sector in the busy centre of Inverness, as well as providing modern and well-equipped whisky training facilities for small groups, visiting distillers, and local workers in the sector.”
In the proposal, the applicant states that the new venture would create approximately 12 full-time and part-time jobs and that it is aimed at enhancing the visitor experience in Inverness city centre whilst rejuvenating an unoccupied unit in the city centre.
With a surface of approximately 185sqm, the space is set to be remodelled to be “very traditional in style” with soft furnishings and bric a brac detailing the whisky making process and history.
The main retail space will be changed to create an open plan room for whisky tasting and education with a central table and multi-media wall for presentation purposes, with a small sensory room set to be included.
Although there are no plans to introduce a kitchen, there will be a small food preparation area for small bites and snacks to accompany the whisky experience.
