Throwing the island's name into the global spotlight
Long before it opened on 24 September 2015 (with the biggest ceilidh the island had ever seen), the Isle of Harris Distillery was designed to be more than just another drink producer. Described as a ‘social distillery’, the project - founded and chaired by retired musicologist Anderson Bakewell - aimed to create an enterprise that would not only enhance the local community for years to come but would throw the island's name into the global spotlight.
The first legal distillery on the previously ‘dry’ Harris produces a multi-award-winning gin which reaches customers through an innovative direct-to-consumer online ordering system and has achieved results beyond expectations. All distillation, bottling and order fulfilment takes place at Tarbert on Harris. Meanwhile, casks of its single malt, The Hearach, are maturing in its warehouse by the shores of Loch an Siar near Ardhasaig.
A whisky distillery at its core, early success of the business has been down to the popularity of the Isle of Harris Gin. “We had relatively modest ambitions for the gin when we set out,” explains Simon Erlanger, Managing Director of Isle of Harris Distillers. “But when we produced it and got the consumer feedback we realised we had a big opportunity on our hands. Sales vastly exceeded our expectations and we’re employing a lot more people than expected.”
The number of visitors wanting to see the distillery for themselves has been double what had originally been forecasted. Initial visitor targets had been in the region of 40k per annum but in the first year they reached 60k and in 2017 visitor numbers were just over 80k.
The direct-to-consumer model and the level of tourist interest has played a large part in the company hitting its longer term target employment rate within two years. The distillery has played an important role in reducing the Harris community’s reliance on companies based elsewhere.
