Sustainable Scotland: How Isle of Barra Distillers' expansion will benefit the business and the island community

Isle of Barra Distillers has launched new investment opportunities and exclusive memberships to the public as work on its £6-million whisky and gin distillery and visitor centre is set to begin next spring.

The distiller is inviting spirits enthusiasts around the world to purchase an IOBD (Isle of Barra Distillers) membership for £500 or to invest in the firm separately.

According to the company’s owners, husband-and-wife team Michael and Katie Morrison, the expansion project is about much more than business – it is a way to bring jobs, tourism and livelihoods back to Barra for the future.

Once work is complete, the distiller plans to produce 200,000 litres of pure alcohol per annum, and says production could double with an increased workforce.

Designed by Ayr-based architects Denham Benn, the planned distillery will house a one-tonne single malt installation and re-home an existing 300-litre custom-made copper gin still, “Ada”, and bottling and bonded warehousing facilities.

It will also include a visitor centre, incorporating a retail area, information centre, and a family-friendly café/bar, which the Morrisons hope will help build a community environment to welcome residents and tourists.

The goal is to open the Isle of Barra Distillers Foundation for the sole purpose of giving back to the island once the distillery is operational after March 2024.

Each year, the foundation will seek to donate 1 per cent of the distillery’s total net profits to the local community. Shareholders will be presented with different causes, and a vote will decide where the money should be spent.

This could be anything from a new play park for youngsters or a facility for the elderly, although the biggest goal for the foundation in its ten-year plan is to build a set of affordable homes to be sold to young families at cost price.

The Castlebay-based firm was established in 2016 by the Morrisons, who grew up on Barra, and decided to “evoke the community spirit” and grow the Outer Hebridean island’s economy.

“That has been the main goal,” Michael explains.”If Barra’s economy stagnates it means that the future generations will be affected, and as current custodians of our project and distillery, this is a key part and main drive of this project to ensure growth within the island for the generations to come so they can be positively impacted upon and have employment.”

The Morrisons also hope to provide employment opportunities for Barra’s young people, encouraging them to continue to live on the island, and have put sustainability at the forefront of their activities.

The team at Isle of Barra Distillers strives for sustainability in how its ingredients are foraged, and the ways it creates, bottles, packages and ships its spirits. This focus will continue as the business evolves.

Morrison explains: “We will be using a state-of-the-art carbon-capture technique, ensuring any waste emissions from the distillery will then be reused to produce algae to be made into salmon feed pellets.

“Along with this, the draft and effluent waste from the whisky production will be reused on local farms, meaning feed for cattle and fertiliser will not be shipped in by ferry or road, which will emit less carbon emissions to third parties.

“Our whisky stills will also be the main supplier of heat to the visitor centre through our heat-recovery system, resulting in less fossil fuel being used for heating purposes.

“And the boilers are being manufactured in a way that when hydrogen becomes available on the island, we are ready to use it.”

The whisky will be crafted with the help of Alan Winchester, who has 43 years’ experience and a Fellowship from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in Scotland.

Also on the whisky production team is Dr Alan Rutherford OBE in an advisory role; chartered accountant Laura Anderson, who previously worked with Edrington for 20 years, as finance director, and Finlay Calder, former Scotland international and British Lions rugby captain, who will be overseeing and advising on the delivery of the project.

The distillery – Scotland’s most westerly – currently has five members of staff, but the expansion will see this grow to 14 from day-one to an estimated 40 in ten years time. By way of comparison, if the same employment impact per head of population occurred in Glasgow, it would create 10,000 jobs, according to Morrison.

He adds: “We are honoured to have a team with so much respect within the industry to help guide us through the process of making a truly remarkable single malt right here on the Isle of Barra.

“This truly is such an exciting time for our family distillery and also for the Island of Barra.”

An investment in The Isle of Barra Distillers is an investment in an operational, asset-backed company that qualifies for EIS tax relief.

To enquire about investment opportunities, email [email protected] or visit www.isleofbarradistillers.com.