New team taking shape at The Cairn Distillery

The management team is now in place to run the new distillery on the outskirts of Grantown on Spey being built by family-owned whisky experts Gordon & MacPhail.

Distillery Manager Mhairi Winters and Visitor Experience Manager Andy Kitchin are already hard at work getting ready to begin whisky production and to welcome visitors from summer 2022.

The pair bring with them a wealth of experience in whisky production and visitor management.

Mhairi Winters joins Gordon & MacPhail from William Grant & Sons Distillers, where she was Team Leader for Balvenie and Kininvie Distilleries. Mhairi has worked in the Scotch Whisky industry for twenty years in a variety of industry roles from tour guide to technical support and then production management.

Mhairi said: “I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the team bringing The Cairn Distillery to life. It’s not every day that a brand-new Distillery of this scale is built and it was an opportunity I couldn’t let pass me by. I’m extremely passionate about our industry and our products. I am excited to begin commissioning and start creating our new spirit.”

Meanwhile Andy Kitchin has most recently been part of the team managing the visitor experience at The Falkirk Wheel.

Before working with Scottish Canals, he was at sea for more than 10 years, managing multiple visitor experience teams onboard P&O cruise ships. He has worked at various luxury Scottish leisure resorts, but has always been focused on creating lasting memories, whether on land or sea.

Andy added: “For me, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of a stunning new venture in a wonderful part of the Scottish countryside. I am very much looking forward to opening our doors to welcome our visitors and let them share the Cairn experience.”

The Cairn will be the second distillery for Scotch malt whisky experts Gordon & MacPhail who bought and re-equipped Benromach Distillery at Forres in the 1990s.

The company prides itself on the positive relationships it has built with the local community in the areas in which it works and has been keen to replicate that approach in Grantown.

As Ewen Mackintosh, Managing Director at Gordon & MacPhail, explained: “We have been delighted by the incredibly positive welcome we’ve had locally. Now we have a local team in place we are keen to continue the process of building long term relationships with the community and local businesses. Andy in particular will be focusing very much on getting to know people in the local area while Mhairi focuses on the production of The Cairn spirit. I’m sure they will enjoy the same warm welcome we have already experienced.”

The Cairn lies in a spectacular location, looking out across the River Spey towards the Cairngorm Mountains.  It will offer a range of immersive visitor experiences, whisky tastings and bistro with a menu shaped by ingredients from the local area.

Notes

Gordon & MacPhail is a family-owned premium spirits company based in Elgin, Scotland. Owner of Scotch whisky distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn, Gordon & MacPhail is also a Scotch whisky maturation expert, the owner of Scottish Gin brand, Red Door and the operator of a wholesale business in the United Kingdom selling premium Scotch whiskies and spirits, along with a high-quality retail outlet.

The company owns Benromach Distillery located in Forres in Moray.  Benromach Single Malt Scotch Whisky is handcrafted using traditional methods by a small team of distillers using the finest Scottish barley and the purest spring water from the nearby Romach Hills. The multi award-winning portfolio of single malts is enjoyed by whisky drinkers worldwide.

The company launched Red Door in the summer of 2018. Created at Benromach Distillery, this award winning, small batch Scottish gin now forms a strategic part of the company’s product portfolio.

Work commenced in July 2020 on The Cairn, the company’s second distillery, overlooking the River Spey towards the Cairngorms.  The new site will add further distillation capacity and brand ownership to the company’s asset base and is a key part of the plans to continue building a long-term sustainable business.  A high-quality visitor experience offering tours and tastings will also attract visitors from around the world.

Since the founding of the business in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail has sent casks to Scotch whisky distilleries throughout Scotland to be filled with new-make spirit, before being left to mature for many years either at the distillery or in their bonded warehouses in Elgin.  The Gordon & MacPhail portfolio offers some of the world’s rarest and most sought-after Single Malt Scotch Whiskies to discerning whisky drinkers globally.

The company’s wholesale business serves customers throughout the United Kingdom selling Benromach Single Malt, Red Door gin and Gordon & MacPhail whiskies into the on and off trade. The business also exclusively represents a number of ‘distributor’ brands and stocks premium whiskies and spirits.

The retail shop in Elgin remains the ‘spiritual home’ of the business, 125 years after it was first established in 1895.  The shop is home to a large selection of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies and is a destination for many whisky aficionados from around the world.