First casks and bottles filled for new Inverness distillery
The new £7.5 million Uile-bheist Distillery has filled its maiden casks, with the new-make spirit set to become the first single malt whisky to be distilled in Inverness for 40 years.
Uile-bheist, meaning ‘monster’ in Gaelic, opened its doors in February as a combined whisky distillery, brewery and visitor experience, powered by an on-site sustainability centre which draws water for production and energy from the River Ness.
Head distiller Andrew ‘Drew’ Shearer performed the historic first cask filling, with the distilled spirit now being laid down for maturation in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon oak casks for a minimum of three years before officially becoming Scotch Whisky.
In a milestone week, Uile-bheist also filled the first batch of 500 bottles of the new make spirit which has an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 63.5 per cent.
Inverness was formerly host to several large distilleries but the last of those, Millburn, closed its doors in 1985. With its closure went the last drops of the ‘water of life’ to flow from the city.
Co-owner Jon Erasmus feels this reflects a sense of community ownership in the project and an eagerness to be part of the story of how distilling has returned to the Highland capital.
He said: “This week marks the end of the beginning for us: the casking and bottling of our first product. We’ve been through the process. Now we want to build on our production and capacity.
“Ultimately, we are a family business supporting this concept for the very long term. This is a small, niche whisky in the highlands with lots of provenance. It is very limited edition. If you buy it, you will literally be one of dozens, not thousands.”
Now the public can finally get an insight into what the signature Uile-bheist Single Malt will be like when fully aged, with casks also being made available to purchase for collectors of rarities.
Around 60 casks of the historic product are available, ranging in price from £6000 for a 200L ex-bourbon cask to £7500 for a 250L ex-sherry Hogshead of Uile-bheist single malt.
While the international investors and collectors market remains buoyant, most buyers so far have come from Inverness and the Highlands.
The Uile-bheist story contains elements which the team believe will be mirrored in the product.
“Because we are using a brewers’ yeast, our own water supply, a very long fermentation time (minimum 4 days, often much longer) and have a lot of temperature control in our fermentations, we are getting a much higher ester content in our whisky, a lot more fruity notes and a much more unique product,” said Mr Shearer.
“Through fermentation, we get a very fruity distillate. We are then distilling it twice using very traditional style copper pot stills but using brand new technology to monitor the process precisely.
“It’s a very light spirit, very fruit forward and a bit nutty in the background. It’s a bit more on the Speyside side, rather than being typical of a Highland malt.”
Uile-bheist intends to release a ‘very bespoke’ bottling of its Single Highland malt at three years old whilst laying down the remainder for ‘the long haul’.
