Scotland will soon have its first single-site whisky distillery and brewery at a site bordering the River Eden.
The award-winning Eden Brewery has secured planning permission for further development of its premises at the former paper mill in Guardbridge.
The privately-funded distillery, which will be called Eden.Mill, will produce a new single malt supplemented by a range of gins that will use plants grown in St Andrews Botanic Gardens and surrounding parts of Fife.
The brewery has gone from strength to strength thanks to the vision of Paul Miller, whose acclaimed range of craft and artisan beers is now stocked all over the country.
The Eden Brewery was the first to brew in the St Andrews area in over 100 years when it set up almost two years ago.
Now it is set to break new ground and create 11 more jobs over the next two years, taking the total number of employees to 20.
Construction on Eden.Mill will be an extension of the Eden Brewery site, where there is already a rich history of both brewing and distilling dating back to 1810.
‘The Seggie’ distillery and brewery, as it was called then, was owned by the Haig family whose brand subsequently became part of Diageo.
The site was then a paper mill for more than 120 years.
After being derelict for a few years it is now owned by St Andrews University, which recently planned to build a biomass plant on the site to support its sustainability objectives.
Now it is hoped the first batch of Eden.Mill single malt can distilled in mid-September.
Mr Miller expressed his delight over the venture, adding the Eden.Mill team has worked with a range of industry experts and their distillers have a clear style identified for their core single malt.
They intend using a range of wood types and cask sizes ranging from sherry butts to octaves to allow the consumer a wider choice and range of whisky experiences.
This will include some blends of other top category single malts, which will be enhanced by maturation or ‘finishing’ in casks at the distillery.
Mr Miller said although it will essentially be about single malt whisky, the distillery will also produce a range of gins which will epitomise the sustainable and local ethos of the brewery.
The gins and other alternative spirits will be batch produced and authentically distilled.