Wednesday, May 18, 2016

INCHDAIRNIE DISTILLERY IN FIFE OFFICIALLY OPENS ITS DOORS

John Fergus & Co. Ltd have officially opened the doors on their new technology and innovation driven InchDairnie Distillery in Fife.

Founded by whisky industry veteran, Ian Palmer, the distillery is located in the outskirts of Kinglassie, Fife. The build took around 18 months and it will produce two million litres of whisky in its first year and as such, it steps away from the recent surge in ‘micro’ distilleries.

John Fergus & Co Managing Director Ian Palmer

Over the coming years, InchDairnie Distillery will focus on laying down stock for the future and the creation of its first InchDairnie Single Malt Scotch whisky, which is expected to be available to consumers around 2029. In addition, the distillery will make a malt for blending to sell to other distillers such as its strategic partner MacDuff International.

From its striking contemporary architecture and deep grey colour, to a meticulously designed whisky-making process based on five flavour innovations, InchDairnie Distillery is taking a bold, forward-thinking approach to producing Scotch malt whisky, while remaining respectful of tradition.

The distillery incorporates five flavour innovations that, when combined are said to create a completely unique flavour:  Seasonal barley – the rare use of winter barley, as well as more traditional spring barley. Mash conversion techniques – using an unconventional mash filter and hammer mill, a combination which is very rare in Scottish distilling. Unique yeast recipe – the blend of yeast strains used is unique to InchDairnie Distillery. High gravity fermentation – higher than normal gravities allow for a more flavoursome spirit. Bespoke stills with double condensers – distinct still shape and double condensers ensures more copper contact and helps create a unique flavour profile. It’s believed to be the only distillery to use double condensers.

Commenting on the launch, Ian Palmer, said: “We are fortunate not to be under any commercial pressure to release our whisky so we will wait until the whisky is at its absolute best, which could be in 10, 12 or 15 years’ time, only time will tell.”

He went on to say: “I’m hugely respectful of whisky-making traditions, but at InchDairnie our vision is to use technical expertise to capture and nurture all of the flavours from the whisky-making process. That’s why, alongside traditional ingredients such as water, malted barley and yeast, technology and innovation will be important ingredients in our whisky. The contemporary look of the distillery is designed to reflect our approach.”

Despite the size of the distillery site, John Fergus & Co have confirmed that they currently do not have plans to open a visitors centre at InchDairnie.

Posted by Steve Rush