The soon-to-be first commercial distiller on the Isle of Harris has completed fundraising for a new maturation warehouse, which is currently under construction.
Isle of Harris Distillers (IHD) said yesterday the warehouse is being erected on a plot bought from a local crofter, with completion slated for next month.
Ayr-based builder 3B Construction was awarded the contract for the facility, which will store up to 4,000 casks, the equivalent of a million bottles.
Now all IHD needs is whisky.
The company plans to open its distillery in the village of Tarbert this summer. From then on, it will be open every day “bar the Sabbath”.
Although distilling has yet to begin, people are already buying the buying casks of its flagship product, which is called The Hearach, the Gaelic for an inhabitant of the island.
IHD said the warehouse is another key step in the company’s progress with the unveiling of its distillery just around the corner.
In total, the company has raised £11.4million for the overall development of the business through grants and private equity funding.
The distiller will double its headcount to 20 once the tourism season gets fully into swing, offering “a significant boost to employment in an island where well-paid, long-term” work “is hard to find.”
IHD managing director Simon Erlanger, said: “An opportunity came along to buy a piece of land at Ardhasaig, only three miles from the distillery site in Tarbert in a perfect spot for our casks to benefit from the prevailing weather arriving from the Atlantic.
“We believe the island’s climate is perfectly suited to maturation of our malt whisky and this is the perfect spot to take advantage of that.”
Local crofter and businessman, Roddy MacAskill, who sold IHD the land for the warehouse, said: “This will be good for the village of Tarbert and the island and I gladly agreed to the company setting up on my croft.
“The distillery has already employed local people – a great boost for an area starved of paid regular employment.
“The distillery will be a boon for the island and the local community is all for it. I have even bought two of the first casks of The Hearach myself – one for me and one for my son – so we’ll be able to watch it mature.”