Harris distillery is a

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

and

Gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

in Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. The distillery was the first legal distillery ever built on Harris.

History

Plans for the distillery began in 2011 with submission to the local council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. With the support of a £2.8 million combined grant from the Scottish Government and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise fund, building commenced in spring 2014. The total investment for the original project was £10 million, with the remaining funding coming from private sources. The distillery opened in October 2015 and commenced production on 17 December 2015. In 2016,

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day with BBC Radio nan Gàidheal s ...

produced a TV documentary about the first working year of the distillery. By 2017, the distillery had welcomed over 144,000 visitors, including Charles, Prince of Wales, as well as receiving 17 awards for their products. In 2020, the distillery began sponsoring a virtual Cèilidh. In January 2021, the distillery submitted plans to the Council for expansion, including a new maturation warehouse. In July 2021, the distillery launched an eco-friendly initiative to refill bottles.

Facilities

The distillery stills were made in Siena, Italy by Frilli Impianti. There is a visitor centre.

Products

As well as a single malt whisky called ''The Hearach'', the Gaelic word for a resident of Harris, the distillery makes a gin using botanicals including local sugar kelp seaweed. As of 2017, over two tonnes of seaweed had been collected for the gin production. Other botanicals in the gin include

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

Coriander Coriander (;

, Angelica Root and Cassia Bark. The gin is sold in a distinctive blue bottle which won a Gold Award at the World Gin Awards in 2021. The gin bottles are manufactured in Yorkshire by the Stolzle Glass Group.

References

{{Gin distilleries in the United Kingdom Scottish malt whisky Gins Distilleries in Scotland