Cabrach Trust gains £310k funding for Scotch distillery

The Cabrach Trust has secured £310,000 (US$434,240) in funding to begin building its new Scotch whisky distillery in Moray.

An artist’s impression of the Cabrach Distillery

The distillery will be located in Cabrach on the southern edge of Moray, said to be one of the birthplaces of the Scotch whisky industry and famed for illicit stills and smuggling.

Work on the distillery and heritage centre, which received planning permission in September 2017, is due to start later this year.

Distilling is expected to get under way in 2019 and the first bottling of mature whisky will be available in 2024, with 150,000 bottles expected to be produced each year..

The distillery received £125,000 from The William Grant Foundation, £25,000 from Foundation Scotland, and £110,000 from the Reekimlane Foundation. A further £50,000 has come from an anonymous donor.

The funding from William Grant Foundation will go towards cultural heritage activities, refurbishing the buildings and preparing the site to allow preparatory works.

Additional funding for the £5.3m project will come from a mix of social finance, grants and charitable trusts and foundations, with several other funding applications in progress.

The distillery will also include a shop, cafe, exhibition space and play area, and will create 12 jobs as well as training opportunities.

Sue Savege, executive director of the Cabrach Trust, said: “We are very grateful to the foundations and organisations for sharing our vision for The Cabrach and generously awarded us funding so far.

“2018 is an exciting year for us at the Cabrach Trust and we are all eagerly looking forward to seeing things really starting to progress.”