Scapegrace to build £13m distillery

Craft spirit producer Scapegrace Distilling Company has announced plans to construct a £13 million (US$16.3m) distillery in Central Otago, New Zealand.

Located on Lake Dunstan on the South Island, the new build is set to be New Zealand’s largest ever distillery, located within an 88 acre plot boasting views of the Bendigo mountains.

It will aim to produce the entirety of Scapegrace’s current portfolio of premium gin and vodka, alongside its soon-to-be released single malt whisky.

Managing director Daniel McLaughlin said: “The halfway point between equator and south pole runs directly through our distillery site, giving us extremes in hot and cold temperatures – an optimum environment for ageing whisky. Naturally, the pristine water quality is also ideal for distilling gin and vodka, pulling from glacial run-off from the Southern Alps.

“Over the past five years we’ve been quietly putting down whisky at our old distillery site and we’ll soon be launching Scapegrace Single Malt Whisky.”

Scapegrace global sales director, James Cowan, added: “Having worked in the Scotch and American Whisky sectors for over 20 years, it is extremely inspiring to see our independent New Zealand distillery bring about something new, refreshing and exciting to the whisky landscape and our new distillery and expansion into single malt will undoubtedly open new doors across the globe for the business.”

With the plan to become a carbon neutral distillery, Scapegrace has made the decision to switch from traditional fossil fuel boilers to electrode boilers, and the distillery building structure itself is to be constructed from timber rather than steel.

Scapegrace marketing director and co-founder Mark Neal said: “We made the decision early on to create a world-leading distillery with sustainability at the forefront, so together with the experts at Cheshire we have factored that into every decision we’ve made.

“Each decision is an incremental step forward in our quest to eventually become carbon neutral and create a property that enhances the region.”

The brand will also seek to foster the community and give back to all who visit the property.

A regenerative planting programme will see NZD$150,000 (US$97,665) worth of native Kanuka trees replanted on the site.

Plans are also underway for a walking track through the property allowing locals and visitors to enjoy the historic setting, including remnants of historic gold mines that will remain as a point of interest for visitors to the property.

Construction has already commenced on the first building which will contain the new Scapegrace head office, bottling hall, warehouse and the first barrel room which is due to be open in August 2022.

Each barrel room will hold almost 2000 casks of whisky with an additional three barrel rooms planned over the coming years.

The second building, which contains the state-of-the-art distillery, will open in October 2023.

The Scapegrace Distillery property plans to open to the public in November 2023 with a substantial food and beverage experience and distillery tour offering.

Founded in 2014, Scapegrace spirits are currently distributed to 40 countries, including the USA, UK, Australia and Canada.