Independent distiller begins gin and single malt distillation
INDEPENDENT distiller Eden Mill has kicked off production for both gin and single malt whisky at its new site, officially completing the commissioning of its new distillery.
This momentous occasion marks the end of 21 months of building work after the handover of the firm from St Andrews in June 2023 and was marked on Monday 7 April when Eden Mill filled its first cask – a Scottish Oak cask.
Rennie Donaldson, chief executive at Eden Mill, said: “The new distillery marks a step change for our business and follows years of hard work by the whole team.
“To be able to announce that our new distillery is now fully operational is incredibly exciting and we are just a few short months away from being able to open our doors to the public and welcome visitors from all over the world.”
The massive distillery space holds a mash tun, six washbacks, a gin still, wash and spirit stills, hot liquor tanks and a cask warehouse with the space to store 300 casks. The state-of-the-art distillery also has enough capacity for 1million litres of pure alcohol per year.
All electricity at the distillery will be 100% renewable, too, coming from either the solar farm belonging to the University of St Andrews or from renewable tariffs on the grid.
Eden Mill is now turning its attention towards restarting its whisky production, with an ambition to fill hundreds more casks with the brand’s new-make spirit. This comes as the brand says that there is just under 400 casks remaining from the single malt distilled from its original distillery.
Further to its whisky production, Eden Mill’s core range of gins, comprised of Gold, Love and Original Gin, will also be distilled at this new location and is soon to be relaunched into a new redesigned bottle to help deliver a more “sophisticated and stand-out look”.
Eden Mill is also set to open a new visitor centre for tourists in the St Andrews area. Located just 10 minutes from the University of St Andrews ‘Eden Campus’, the new experience will offer attendees immersive gin and whisky experiences, a retail space and a top-floor cocktail bar with views overlooking the Eden Estuary.
The work on the visitor centre is set to finish this summer, with a planned opening date in August.
Scott Ferguson, head distiller at Eden Mill, said: “Following the installation of our copper stills in January, we have been progressing towards getting the distillery operational and refining our new-make spirit.
“My objective is to replicate the profile of what we used to distil at our original site – a light, sweet spirit with floral and grassy notes.
“I am looking forward to coming to work at this beautiful location every day and to overseeing the distillation of our excellent products.”
