After more than 50 years of running local businesses, the Stewart family were finally able to celebrate in July 2020 when the distillery became fully operational. George Stewart, the distillery’s founder, described the process as the result of “a dream or perhaps a dram too many,” when the family decided to build a whisky distillery in the heart of Scotland.
According to the Falkirk Distillery team, the distillery was built with 'whisky heritage at its core' and the site has the ability eventually to produce over a million litres of pure alcohol a year using its reconditioned Caperdoinch Distillery stills and copper-topped mash tun. The distillery’s goal, according to George, is to make a “light lowland malt, appealing to a wide range of spirit drinkers.”
He added, “The whole process to date has been one of passion and patience. We have invested heavily in time and money to create something we hope the local area can be immensely proud of. We are overwhelmed with the support shown already from the local area and whisky community; there is something about whisky that really brings people together.”
It is expected that over 80,000 visitors will come through the doors every year, which the family hope will give a boost to the local community, and at least 60 new members of staff will be employed at the distillery once tours and the restaurant are up and running.
Whisky fans can now sign up to be a founding member of the distillery and, for those who wish to invest further, there is also the option to purchase a cask—currently first-fill bourbon and sherry hogsheads are on offer.
The distillery is managed by Graham Brown, formerly of Distell, who also spent time with both Deanston and Tobermory. Graham is overseeing production of the new single malt and suggested that ‘something special’ awaits whisky drinkers: “Our main aim here is to focus on the quality of the spirit. There is no rush to just put anything out to market that we aren’t immensely proud of and we believe that will show in the final product.”
Customers and whisky fans can now follow the distillery’s journey on Facebook until the lifting of Covid restrictions allows for completion of the visitor centre. After this, distillery tours will be available year-round, with a restaurant and tasting event centre planned soon after.