Distillation begins at Orkney Distillery

After pandemic delays, The Orkney Distillery will officially start its first distillation run today (27 March).

The start of distillation also coincides with International Whisky Day (27 March). The start of whisky production marks a long-time coming for the distillery, following delays stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Orkney Distilling was granted the licence to distil whisky last year and this also came with approval to make rum, which it has also started producing.

The distillery already produces pink gin Beyla and its flagship gin, Kirkjuvagr.

On getting the go ahead to finally commence whisky-making, managing director and co-founder of Orkney Distilling Stephen Kemp said: “Whisky production has been our dream since we began work on the distillery in 2017, so we were incredibly excited to receive our official approvals to allow us to finally begin production.

“We’re also fortunate to be working with some of the most respected and experienced whisky production experts.

“Over the past seven years, The Orkney Distillery has become well established within the Scottish drinks sector, with our award-winning range of Kirkjuvagr gins a firm favourite in the marketplace.

“Our single malt Scotch whisky will be a fantastic addition to the distillery’s product range and will be crafted with the same commitment and attention to detail that we’ve applied to our gin production.

“We’ll share more details in the coming weeks and months but suffice to say we’re determined to create a single malt of exceptional quality and provenance, one that reflects our values as a business and celebrates the long tradition of whisky making in Orkney.”

Distillery expansion plans

Over the past few months, the company said the distillery’s expansion has ‘rapidly’ sped up.

A pilot brewhouse has been installed and a larger one will follow towards the the end of summer, along with three new copper pot stills. These will allow the distillery to increase its production to 30,000 litres of pure alcohol per year.

The new whisky (a single malt) will be made with old varieties of barley – such as locally grown bere – in the slow and traditional way, which the distillery said would result in a ‘quality spirit, full of flavour and character’.

It will then be aged in a variety of smaller casks.

The single malt won’t be available until after the minimum three-year maturation period.

However, the producer will launch two blended whiskies, one peated and one unpeated, named Hoy and Fara.

Kemp said: “We’ve created [these] using a very fine combination of malts – some local to Orkney. These blends will be bottled and further matured in Orkney, and they’ll serve as a brilliant introduction to what we’re looking to achieve with our diversification into Scotch.”

On also getting the rum under way, he added: “And, finally, our rum production, which has also started, will give existing and new customers access to a full suite of outstanding products from The Orkney Distillery.”

The Orkney Distillery was founded in 2016 by Kemp and his wife, Aly Kemp, and opened in Kirkwall two years later, in Ayre Road, by the area’s historic harbour front.