The team working at the Holyrood Distillery and visitor experience in Edinburgh has doubled in size ahead of its opening this summer.
Elizabeth Machin has joined the distilling team ahead of the much-anticipated launch, as the distillery revealed that only a handful of its limited edition run of 100 casks remain available for sale following huge international interest in its recently launched cask purchase programme.
When it opens in July, Holyrood Distillery, which is situated within walking distance of the Royal Mile, will be the first fully operational single malt whisky distillery in the heart of Edinburgh for almost 100 years.
The distillery and visitor centre project was initially led by a core team including founders Rob and Kelly Carpenter and David Robertson, alongside commercial director Bill Farrar and head distiller Jack Mayo.
Now the team has doubled in size as it prepares to start whisky production and open its doors to thousands of visitors. After its first year of operation, the distillery expects to have in the region of 35 full-time employees.
Elizabeth Machin is the latest addition to the distilling team supporting Jack Mayo, the head distiller who has a doctorate in astrophysics but now focuses his analytical mind to explore the world of whisky.
Elizabeth recently graduated with an MSc in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University, following in the footsteps of fellow Heriot-Watt alumni Jack. She was brought up in Spain and trained as a nurse before she changed career and entered the world of distilling.
Elizabeth joins distiller Ollie Salvesen in the distilling team supporting Jack. Ollie joined the team in summer 2018 after a spell working on Islay inspired him to study Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt.
Elizabeth and Ollie will run the day-to-day production of whisky, gin and liqueurs at Holyrood while working with Jack as the team create an innovative range of spirits driven by a fundamental and unswerving focus on flavour.
With Holyrood Distillery situated within easy walking distance of several major tourist attractions in the centre of Edinburgh, the team has also strengthened its tourism team.
Debs Newman, the distillery’s visitor experience director who was previously at the V&A in Dundee, will now be supported by Holly Aynsley as visitor operations and events manager; Jen Wallace as retail and admissions manager; and Liam Robertson as tourism business development manager. In addition, Ian Gemmell is the distillery’s finance manager.
With tours and tasting experiences set to run daily throughout the year, the distillery expects to employ around 12 guides, complemented by other visitor experience assistants.
Earlier this month, Holyrood announced that it was making 100 casks of whisky available for sale through its cask purchase programme – with the unique opportunity for purchasers to tailor the flavour of their cask of whisky. Within days, the distillery was inundated with enquiries from around the world and now only a handful of casks remain available.
Founding director David Robertson said: ‘It’s an incredibly exciting time for us at Holyrood as the distillery takes shape and our team is rapidly expanding. We started off with a small team and already we’ve doubled in size and we expect to grow further within the first year. With our location in the centre of Edinburgh, we know we’re going to attract huge interest and visitor numbers, so we’re making sure we’re ready and raring to go for that.”
‘Releasing 100 casks for sale was also a huge moment for us and the reaction has been remarkable, with enquiries coming in from close to home here in Edinburgh and from all corners of the world. Within a few days, we’ve almost sold out and there are only a few left so we’d advise any interested people to get in touch as soon as possible!’
The distillery, which will produce single malt whisky, gin and liqueurs, will offer an immersive visitor experience with daily hour-long guided tours throughout the year. The tours will focus on exploring flavour and feature the opportunity to get hands-on with ingredients, sample various spirits, and bottle whisky straight from the cask.
Click HERE for more details on the distillery and HERE to find out about the cask purchase programme.
Author
TAGS
FOLLOW US
