GlenWyvis Distillery 2024: A Bespoke, Hands-on Distillery

Nestled beneath the sprawling mass of Ben Wyvis mountain in the Scottish Highlands, GlenWyvis Distillery was established in 2015. The idea was to unite the community of Dingwall through the creation of a distillery owned by local people. DeliveryRank chats with Craig MacRitchie, the Distillery Manager at GlenWyvis Distillery, who leads with a passion for preserving tradition while embracing sustainable innovation in whisky production. His expertise ensures that GlenWyvis continues to produce high-quality, community-driven whisky that honors the rich heritage of Dingwall.

Craig, what inspired the founding of GlenWyvis Distillery in 2015, and how did the community of Dingwall respond to the idea?

The main inspiration behind our endeavor was John McKenzie, the founder, hailing from Dingwall. Dingwall itself has a long history as a market town, though like many towns across Scotland and the UK, it has experienced a decline in services, especially given its proximity to Inverness. As the world becomes more interconnected, many services have been centralized in Inverness, leaving towns like Dingwall searching for ways to reinvigorate their communities.

In 2015, we identified an opportunity that could bring vitality and economic benefit back to Dingwall. Despite Inverness having no distillery at that time, we recognized Dingwall’s rich heritage in distilling. This insight led to the conception of GlenWyvis, a name that reflects the area's storied past. The response from the local residents was overwhelmingly positive, underscoring the community’s enthusiasm for reclaiming this piece of their cultural heritage.

In Scotland, whisky holds a special place in our collective imagination and cultural identity. Establishing a whisky distillery in Dingwall after nearly a century not only captured people's imaginations but also their pride. As a community company, we aimed to create something that would genuinely benefit the local area, and whisky, deeply intertwined with Scottish heritage, seemed the perfect catalyst.

I was fortunate enough to present our model of a community benefit society in Korea. My journey with GlenWyvis began in July 2015 as the very first employee, and recently, I’ve taken on the role of manager. My involvement has spanned from the conceptual stages, through construction, to our first whisky distillation and release. Over these nine years, GlenWyvis has become more than just a job; it’s a significant part of my life.

When discussing success with others, I emphasize that any community business must resonate deeply with locals, something they can fully support. Whisky, especially single malt, fills that role in Scotland. It is our largest industry, recognized and enjoyed globally. By establishing GlenWyvis, we aim to provide Dingwall with a much-needed boost, blending tradition with community spirit to create something truly special.

Can you elaborate on the significance of GlenWyvis being the first 100% community-owned distillery and the impact of the 2016 record-breaking open share offer?

From a personal standpoint, I have been deeply involved in the whisky industry since I was 18. My grandfather worked for 30 years with Glenfiddich and Glenmorangie, so whisky has always been an integral part of my life. The current state of the whisky industry is thriving globally. However, over 90% of all Scottish whisky production is controlled by large multinational corporations or affluent individuals and their families.

For me, the significance of GlenWyvis lies in its ownership model – it is owned by regular people and operated for the benefit of our local community. This approach is groundbreaking. While some may consider it visionary, it harkens back to a time when whisky production in Scotland was more community-focused. Historically, distilleries were integral to their local communities, with products often shared for local consumption.

The idea of reclaiming a segment of Scotland’s largest industry from multinational corporations and placing it back into the hands of local people is profoundly significant to me. We are the first community-owned distillery in Scotland, but I sincerely hope we are not the last. I envision a future with more small distilleries adopting this community ownership model.

While the craft gin boom has made waves recently due to its quicker production time, whisky remains one of the most challenging start-up businesses, given the years required for aging. Despite this, the importance of having a small, locally-owned piece of the industry cannot be overstated. It symbolizes a shift towards local empowerment and sustainable community benefits.

If more distilleries followed this model, the economic impact could be substantial. Instead of profits flowing out of Scotland into the coffers of large corporations, they would stay within our communities, fostering local development. This isn't meant to sound political, but rather a positive step forward for the industry as a whole.

How does GlenWyvis incorporate sustainable practices into its operations, and what role do wind, hydro, solar, and biomass energy play in your distilling process?

Our distillery is entirely powered by renewable energy. We have a wind turbine nearby, and we get our electricity from the renewable energy sources owned by our landlord, Impact. We have access to the electricity from a wind turbine, two solar arrays and a small hydro scheme, which are all owned by our landlord. On-site, we have two solar batteries, a wind turbine, and a small hydro scheme in the borough. Essentially, the only time we aren’t producing renewable energy is when it’s dark, dry, and windless – a rare occurrence in the north of Scotland.

Sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are vital in the whisky industry today. From the beginning, we aimed to be completely green. We have a biomass boiler from Austria that burns locally produced sustainable woodchips. We were the second distillery in Scotland to power our stills entirely by biomass. While not being the first allowed us to learn from the pioneers, running a distillery on biomass is vastly different from using oil or gas. It requires patience, as heating up the biomass takes time, especially on a Monday morning when it can take two to three hours to generate steam, compared to the 10 minutes it might take with fossil fuels.

Despite the slower process, the benefits are undeniable. Our boiler, being of high quality and not running 24/7, has a long lifespan. This means it will likely outlast my tenure at the distillery. Looking ahead, we are conscious of exploring new technologies, such as hydrogen, to maintain our green initiatives.

We once had an electric distillery vehicle charged on-site with renewable energy for local deliveries. Even our tasting cups at events are recyclable, some made from potato starch. Our plastic bags are biodegradable. Although we are a small player in the vast whisky industry, we aim to incorporate sustainability into every aspect of our operations, from production to logistics.

With the revival of whisky distilling in Dingwall after nearly a century, how does GlenWyvis honor the town’s historical distilling tradition while innovating for the future?

GlenWyvis is a testament to traditional innovation for the future. The local town of Dingwall lost its last distillery in 1926. The very name GlenWyvis honors the distilling heritage of the area. We combined the names of two historical distilleries: Glenskiach, which was nearby, and Ben Wyvis, which was in the town itself. There is no actual Glen of Wyvis; instead, we took the "Glen" from Glenskiach and the "Wyvis" from Ben Wyvis to create GlenWyvis, thus paying homage to our heritage.

We produce a traditional Highland single malt whisky, typical of our region. However, for one month each year, we create an incredibly heavily peated whisky, which is quite untraditional for our area. This is not for our core range but for special releases, showcasing the versatility of our distillery.

It’s challenging to compare our whisky with the original whiskies from Dingwall, as there are no surviving bottles. I've only seen one empty bottle in a museum, which is the closest we've come to sampling the last whisky produced here legally.

We are working on a new whisky range inspired by local culture and history. Dingwall has a rich history, from the Picts and Vikings, and we aim to incorporate this heritage into our bottlings without being clichéd. As the manager, I consider how best to apply local cultural heritage to our products, telling the story of our area to the wider world.

What is the vision for GlenWyvis over the next few years, particularly in terms of expanding your reach within and beyond the UK, and how do you plan to maintain sustainable growth?

At GlenWyvis, our primary vision is to grow our stock of whisky, which is essential for our long-term success. However, our mission extends beyond producing exceptional whisky; we are deeply committed to our community. Over the past two years, we have donated £30,000 to local charities and causes from the profits of our online whisky sales and some of our cask sales. Our goal is to continue and expand this social investment, fostering social regeneration in and around Dingwall.

Our commitment to social good is a fundamental reason for GlenWyvis's existence. We aim to increase our sales to generate more funds for local distribution, enhancing our community's social fabric. This aligns with our founding purpose of bringing back social investment to the area.

Currently, our whisky is sold in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan. We aim to expand our reach to new markets, introducing GlenWyvis to a broader audience. As a small team of three full-time staff members, including myself, everything we do is meticulously planned to maximize our impact with limited resources.

Sustainability is at the core of our operations. We are committed to sustainable business practices, which involve careful stock management. It's tempting to release young whisky quickly for immediate profit, but this risks depleting our reserves of aged whisky. Managing our stock wisely ensures we have valuable aged whisky in the future, requiring us to anticipate market trends and challenges.

The whisky industry is unique in that it requires long-term planning. We must forecast market conditions years in advance, considering global political and economic volatility. For example, the price of barley spiked due to geopolitical events, which affected our costs. While we can't predict such events, we strive to plan sensibly to mitigate their impact.

Our approach is to release high-quality whisky that demonstrates GlenWyvis's versatility and excellence, even at a young age. We carefully balance releasing exceptional whisky now while preserving enough aged stock for future releases. This strategy ensures that we can consistently offer premium products without compromising our long-term inventory.

We are a bespoke, hands-on distillery, which allows us to adapt more easily to market changes compared to larger producers. Our focus is on high-end, single-product offerings rather than mass-market distribution. This bespoke approach helps us maintain stability amid market fluctuations.

We are also dedicated to fostering community engagement and democratic participation. Our third share offer is currently open for investors and members, promoting a sense of ownership and involvement among our supporters. Our recent EGM highlighted the importance of maintaining momentum and positivity within our community.

Ultimately, our vision is to continue producing outstanding whisky and gin while being prudent about our releases. We aim to reach new whisky enthusiasts worldwide, sustaining our growth and positive impact. GlenWyvis is about more than just whisky; it's about doing good, fostering community, and planning for a sustainable future.

By balancing tradition with innovation, we aim to build a lasting legacy that benefits both our community and whisky lovers around the globe.

If you would like to find out more about GlenWyvis Distillery, please visit https://glenwyvis.com/