Painstaking work will now begin to restore the original buildings, which date back almost two centuries to 1819, bringing the site back to life as a working distillery.

Under the plans, the distillery’s historic stillhouse will be entirely dismantled before being meticulously rebuilt stone-by-stone so that it retains its original character but is structurally capable of once more producing the finest quality spirit.

Stewart Bowman, Brora Distillery Project Implementation Manager, said: “This is a key milestone in our journey to bring Brora Distillery back into production.

“Everyone involved is raring to get going with the work to restore the beautiful distillery buildings so they can once more produce the spirit that Brora is famous for.

“We will now begin the painstaking work of bringing down and reconstructing the stillhouse with care and attention to detail so that every stone is perfect.”

Diageo first announced plans to reopen Brora Distillery in October last year, 35 years after it closed its doors, sparking local interest from the community and from whisky lovers around the world.

Earlier this year, the team bringing Brora Distillery back to life invited the local community to be a part of its revival by sharing their memories, stories and artefacts relating to the famous Scotch distillery. In return, Diageo shared exclusive drawings and plans for the distillery’s construction which, where possible, will replicate the distillation regimes and spirit character of the original distillery.