Grahamslaw farm located in Kelso which is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland has submitted plans to the Scottish Borders Council for a new eco friendly whisky distillery on Monday, October 3rd, 2022.
The Grahamslaw Distillery Company has submitted the plans. The company is led by Sarah Lang and along with her team of whisky experts she aims to create a unique whisky distillery if the plans go through. Lang’s goal is to create a whisky distillery producing a traditional Lowland single malt with zero carbon footprint using clean energy and sustainable farming practices. In addition Lang wants to aim to produce an authentic ‘field to bottle’ single malt whisky, using only spring barley grown on the 667-acre farm.
“Grahamslaw is an ideal location for a malt whisky distillery. Set in a beautiful landscape in the Tweed Valley, it has stunning views overlooking the river Kale, a good water supply from a natural spring, excellent surrounding agricultural land, and the good transport links essential for a distillery.” ~ Iain Lochhead, distillery operations advisor to Grahamslaw Distillery
The plans submitted outline a plan to renovate the original farm buildings to incorporate a mash house, traditional dunnage cask storage, a fermentation room and a new stillhouse. A private lunch room for guests, ‘The Long Room’, will open out into a walled garden. Future plans include converting the ruined 17th century Haughead laird’s house into a private whisky tasting house beside the Kale.
“We are incredibly excited to breathe new life into our beautiful old buildings and bring significant economic benefit and employment to both Kelso and the Scottish Borders We are passionate about the benefits Grahamslaw Distillery will bring to the Kelso area, a place with which our family has a long history and a deep connection. We will be taking our time to distill and mature the finest malt whisky, and we will be working hard to lead the way in the industry with sustainable and environmentally friendly production and family practices.” ~ Mrs Lang, the owner of Grahamslaw Farm and founder of the Grahamslaw Distillery.
If approved the distillery would be the second to open locally in recent years – after the Borders Distillery in Hawick. Pending planning consent and construction, distillation is expected to commence at the site in 2024 with an annual production target of 200,000 LPA and is expected to create many new jobs.
