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Lerwick Distillery Sandy Boak

Shetland’s first whisky distillery is one step closer to opening

Published: 16/08/2024

Lerwick Distillery Ltd was established in 2022 by founders Martin Watt and Calum Miller with the ambition to become Shetland’s first whisky distillery and is set to open later this year.

Andrew Gear (HIE), Martin Watt and Calum Miller (Lerwick Distillery)

This ambition moved one step closer as the team recently took delivery of its copper stills and other distilling equipment at its Lerwick premises.  

The property on Market Street (formerly known as Whisky Lane) is being renovated to house the distillery and will also include the creation of a shop and tasting rooms to capture the growing number of visitors to Shetland.   
 
The company was awarded £250,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) towards the cost of the new production equipment.  

More than nine jobs are expected to be created, offering career opportunities in distilling to people on the island. The distillery will have the capacity to produce around 200,000 litres of whisky a year once at full production. 

The founders have a strong focus on achieving a low carbon operation and are exploring options to further reduce its carbon footprint and create circular economy opportunities.  
 
Andrew Gear, development manager at HIE’s Shetland’s area team, said:  

“The development of Shetland’s first ever whisky distillery will be a real asset to Shetland. It will create a high-quality product with global appeal, that will enhance Shetland’s food and drink offering and the visitor experience for our growing tourism market. 

“It will help create valuable employment opportunities in a new industry for Shetland and is a good example of HIE’s investment helping to leverage in additional private investment to deliver projects.  

“We are looking forward to continuing to work with the company as it develops the new distillery.”  

Lerwick Distillery director, Martin Watt, said:   

“Realising our ambition of opening up our own distillery has been incredible. It’s been hard work and we are grateful to HIE and other organisations which have supported and encouraged us along the way.” 

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