It has the makings of a dream job for an experienced whisky industry hand – the chance to run a brand new £20million distillery and oversee production of its debut single malt.
Moray-based spirits firm Gordon and MacPhail is looking for a manager for The Cairn Distillery, which is taking shape on a site overlooking the River Spey, near Grantown.
The new building, at Craggan, which will include a visitor experience, tasting rooms, retail space and a bistro as well as production facilities, is due to open in spring next year.
Stuart Urquhart, operations director at family-owned G&M, said: “Everyone at Gordon & MacPhail is excited to be launching The Cairn Distillery next year to bring something new to people who love single malt Scotch whisky across the globe.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious distillery manager with a passion for single malt Scotch whisky and in-depth knowledge of production to join an internationally renowned and growing family business.
“The distillery manager will have a key role to play in creating a new, high-quality single malt.”
The Elgin-based firm said The Cairn’s manager would work closely with Mr Urquhart and the wider team to manage site operations and represent the new brand in key markets.
The Cairn will be G&M’s second distillery, complementing Benromach, in Forres, which it bought in 1993 and officially re-opened in 1998.
Planning permission for the distillery, which lies within the Cairngorms National Park, at the gateway to Speyside, was granted in 2019 and work started on the site in July last year.
Contracts for work as varied as earthworks and scaffolding have been awarded to companies based in Moray, Highland and Aberdeenshire.
The mash tun, washbacks and stills that produce the whisky are being manufactured by Forsyths, of Rothes.
Expected to become a “significant local employer”, the new distillery will have the capacity to produce around 440,000 gallons of whisky a year. It has been forecast the visitor facilities will attract 50,000 tourists annually.
G&M has been owned by the Urquhart family for four generations. As well as its distilleries, it specialises in Scotch whisky maturation and also owns Scottish gin brand Red Door, made at Benromach.
The firm still operates a retail shop on the site in the centre of Elgin where the company was established as a grocery business in 1895 and describes it as its “spiritual home.”
