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Deerness Distillery secures £246,000
Orkney-based Deerness Distillery has gained £246,000 (US$313,368) in funding to support the expansion of its site and its move into whisky.
The Scottish spirits producer gained the funding from government-backed Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which will be used for its £820,000 (US$1 million) expansion project.
Located in Deerness, on a peninsula in the east end of mainland Orkney, Deerness Distillery was established in 2016 by husband and wife Stuart and Adelle Brown.
The existing facility will be extended to include a café, visitor centre and larger retail shop with visual access to the production process. Additional buildings will house whisky malting and distilling equipment and whisky casks.
The HIE funding will be put towards the building works and equipment costs for the café and the distillery, including mash tuns and copper whisky stills.
Once open this summer, the distillery will start whisky production using Scottish barley and locally grown grains from Orkney as well as increasing production of their existing gins, vodka and coffee liqueur.
The company is also exploring green technologies to lower carbon emissions at the distillery. Plans include using spent grains from the distillery and food waste to produce electricity to provide power, heat and hot water. The waste grains will also be turned into animal feed.
Stuart Brown said: “We’re delighted to be embarking on this development, which would not have been possible without the support of HIE. Building on our success with gin and vodka production is an important step in our journey, allowing us to increase sales both nationally and internationally while creating employment in the islands, attracting more visitors and having a greener footprint.”
In April last year, Orkney-based Kimbland Distillery slammed Deerness Distillery’s claim that it is the first new whisky distillery on the Scottish island in 138 years.
HIE recently provided up to £500,000 (US$636,100) in funding to support The Cabrach Trust’s new whisky distillery.