Distillery is taking shape for whisky and gin production in Dingwall

Whisky and gin are to be produced at the world’s first 100 per cent community-owned distillery in Dingwall.

GlenWyvis has confirmed its order for gin distillation equipment with Forsyths of Rothes, as it completes its plans to bring both gin and whisky production to Dingwall.

With the first run of new make spirit planned for later this year, and gin distillation soon to follow in 2018, GlenWyvis is set to be one of a select few dual whisky and gin producers in Scotland – and the only one on the popular North Coast 500 route.

With less than ten dual producers operating throughout Scotland, this announcement provides a further marketing boost for GlenWyvis as it seeks to offer something truly innovative and different in the burgeoning Scottish drinks market.

This exciting pre-festive ‘ginstillation’ news comes on the back of the appointment of the very first GlenWyvis distillery manager, Duncan Tait, who joins as the distillery ramps up activity ahead of its official opening this month.

David O’Connor, chairman of the distillery board, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to our partners at the Shetland Distillery for supporting us through the start-up phase and helping to establish our gin brand in the market.
‘However, moving gin production to Dingwall is something that our members requested when we sought their views earlier this year. In fact, it is one of the drivers behind our second open share offer, and with strong continued investment, we’ve opted to place the order for the gin still now, so we can commence dual production in 2018.’

GlenWyvis will soon be producing whisky and gin at the world’s first 100 per cent community-owned distillery in Dingwall

John McKenzie, founder and managing director, added: ‘We’ve seen a steady rise in the popularity of GlenWyvis Gin over the past two years at numerous events, through bar and retail sales, and this has been bolstered by positive online sales.

‘Nearly 100 retailers now stock our gin and outlets such as The Storehouse and Carnegie Whisky Cellars have helped build good local demand.

‘We’ve also made our gin available in robust, branded GlenWyvis tubes – and this is proving very popular in the gifting market. Gin sales will remain a core income stream for us, as we seek to build the foundations for a long-term whisky distilling operation.

‘We will soon advertise for a business development manager to help us push into new markets, and at the same time we’re looking at a number of product innovations to make our gin offer even more compelling including establishing our own botanical garden on site here at the distillery.’

Meanwhile, GlenWyvis continues to reap national and international recognition with a number of film crews visiting the distillery this week, following on from a recent episode of BBC Landward that featured GlenWyvis from land and air.

A further surge of investment also continues as new members seek to secure part-ownership of a Scottish gin and whisky distillery. The total for the second open share offer now sits at just under £275,000.