RAISE A GLASS: SHETLAND ISLAND TO WELCOME THEIR MAIDEN WHISKY DISTILLERY IN 2024

The Shetland Islands is set to welcome their first ever whisky distillery in 2024. Lerwick Distillery will open their doors later this year, having started out a just a dream that conceived over 10 years ago by friends Martin Watt, Caroline MacIntyre, and Calum Miller. The friends managed to secure a distillery site in 2022 and have been planning the launch since.

In compliance with Scottish law, whisky cannot be called whisky until it has matured for at least 3 years and 1 day. In the meantime the distillery will initially offer a ‘new make’ spirit which will be named Haad Still, a nod to traditional Shetland dialect.

A startup grant from the Shetland Islands Council and a strong social media strategy saw Lerwick Distillery surpass their initial funding goal of £1 million. Martin Watt, Director of Lerwick Distillery, outlined the role Business Gateway played in helping with their success, outlining that the unexpected boost in share capital amounted to a staggering £682,000.

Diana Abernethy echoes the sentiment, expressing pride in contributing to Lerwick Distillery’s historic venture and underscoring its potential to invigorate tourism and bolster the local economy. Alongside the construction of Saxavord Spaceport which will see its first launch later this year (and will be the first ever vertical launch in the UK), the island is well setup to benefit from these endeavours.