Fife’s InchDairnie whisky distillery will be able to produce 4 million litres of the amber bead a year after a substantial investment coinciding with their 10th birthday.
InchDairnie will double its capacity after installing two new additional stills and four on-site warehouses.
The distillery will celebrate a decade of selling their spirit next year, with a number of special events planned, managing director Scott Sneddon said.
And while he remains tight-lipped on the figure for the investment, and what these events will be, it comes as part of a wider £15 million spend by the firm since launching in 2015.
InchDairnie investment doubles capacity
The distillery expansion includes preparing for the conversion to green hydrogen from natural gas, which the firm said could cut its carbon footprint by 35%.
Sustainability is key for InchDairnie going into the next decade and beyond, Mr Sneddon told The Courier.
“Approaching this ten year milestone is monumental, and definitely something to be savoured and enjoyed,” he said.
“We have the confidence with our brands to build this capacity, which gives us the option to bring up production slowly over the next period of time.
“And sustainability is very important for us too. Assessments conducted found 35% of our carbon footprint was coming from the running of the boiler.
“So we decided we would buy and build a new, larger boiler. We got this through Bosh, who provided a dual fuel boiler which can work on natural gas and green hydrogen.
“And once the infrastructure is in place for hydrogen, then we can power our distillery with it.”
Ian Palmer, InchDairnie Distillery founder, added: “The installation of the new infrastructure at the distillery is testament to the quality of spirit that we are producing here in Fife, and have done for a decade.
“Demand from industry partners for our new-make liquid has been high, and the response we have had to our first release, RyeLaw, unveiled last year has been both satisfying and humbling.”
Calls for Fife recognition
InchDairnie also wants the Fife region to be recognised as a designated whisky production area, similar to Islay and Speyside.
They are one of five Fife distillers producing whisky from the Kingdom.
“Fife for us is very important. The whisky we produce for our own brand, we want to be Fife grown, Fife distilled and Fife matured,” Scott added.
“RyeLaw, which launched last year, displays itself as a Fife single grain. It shows the providence of being in the Kingdom.
“We have been pressing the Scottish Whisky Association to recognise Fife as region and we will continue to do this.
“And if we can get the region recognised, that is for the benefit of the whole area.”
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