Shetland food business profile: Saxa Vord distillery
Shetland reel is the most northerly distillery in Britain and was one of the many companies exhibiting at the Shetland Food and Drink Fair in Lerwick during September, Odile Evans reports.
Myself and my husband bought the former RAF Saxa Vord site up in Unst 10 years ago,” said business partner Debbie Strang. Even though Strang formerly worked for the RAF, she was never posted to Saxa Vord. “The focus was on getting the houses out for self-catering, hostel accommodation and a seasonal restaurant. But we had a huge building that was the supplies depot and we just kept walking past it thinking: ‘That should really be a distillery, it would give some year-round employment and continue the regeneration of the site’.”
They had the experience of doing business in Shetland, the building and the unique selling point of being the most northerly. A second couple, Stuart and Wilma Nicholson, brought the spirit-making skills to the table.
“The long-term plan is to make whisky,” said Debbie. “We started with gin first to get the name out there, get some cashflow in and prove the concept. This is quite a logistical challenge and people probably think we are mad. We have our local botanicals for the apple mint and the ocean scent gin has the Bladderwack seaweed, but everything else has to come in on the overnight ferry from Aberdeen and take two inter-island ferries. It is distilled, bottled, labelled and then taken all the way back. But it’s worth it, it’s created on an island of about 400 people to support local jobs. We have the visitor experience as well. It is all coming together and the Scottish gin industry is taking off.”
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Myself and my husband bought the former RAF Saxa Vord site up in Unst 10 years ago,” said business partner Debbie Strang. Even though Strang formerly worked for the RAF, she was never posted to Saxa Vord. “The focus was on getting the houses out for self-catering, hostel accommodation and a seasonal restaurant. But we had a huge building that was the supplies depot and we just kept walking past it thinking: ‘That should really be a distillery, it would give some year-round employment and continue the regeneration of the site’.”
They had the experience of doing business in Shetland, the building and the unique selling point of being the most northerly. A second couple, Stuart and Wilma Nicholson, brought the spirit-making skills to the table.
“The long-term plan is to make whisky,” said Debbie. “We started with gin first to get the name out there, get some cashflow in and prove the concept. This is quite a logistical challenge and people probably think we are mad. We have our local botanicals for the apple mint and the ocean scent gin has the Bladderwack seaweed, but everything else has to come in on the overnight ferry from Aberdeen and take two inter-island ferries. It is distilled, bottled, labelled and then taken all the way back. But it’s worth it, it’s created on an island of about 400 people to support local jobs. We have the visitor experience as well. It is all coming together and the Scottish gin industry is taking off.”
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