Opening Ad Gefrin’s Door
Business Development Manager Launches Opportunity to Participate in Distillery Venture
Today, with just under a year to go until the opening of the Ad Gefrin Visitor Experience and Distillery in Wooler, the company reveals the person behind its business development and details of its founder programme. Morpeth resident Sharon Howey will be responsible for offering future Ad Gefrin enthusiasts the chance to be part of the Ad Gefrin ‘family’ and become founding members.
From those living in the area, to the get-go whisky enthusiasts, and those around the world with Northumbrian roots, people have been asking if they could be part of the Ad Gefrin journey. Well, now is their chance.
Sharon is well known and highly respected throughout the northeast of England, having held prominent roles in some of the region’s top sporting institutes, (including Newcastle United Football Club and Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club). She has massive expertise and is the crème-de-la-crème in the field of successful business development, and is ideally suited for her role at Ad Gefrin, which is to create real value for money in personal and corporate packages.
The construction of the new Ad Gefrin Visitor Experience and Distillery has generated considerable interest across Northumberland and beyond, and Sharon has undertaken vast amounts of research to ensure that its founding members’ programme, The Corenkyn, is very special and offers people something which is truly unique.
photographs of Ad Gefrin
Sharon gives further background: “It’s been a long wait, not least because of almost 18 months affected by lock-down, but I am really excited to now make this opportunity public. We’ve received a lot of interest from people from across the UK and beyond, looking to get involved and this is an opportunity for them to do just that.”
“This exclusive membership initiative comes after a number of requests from people wanting to ‘buy-in’ to the venture and become part of the Ad Gefrin journey before we open our doors in Wooler in autumn 2022.”
Sharon tells how this membership initiative reflects the inspiration behind the Ad Gefrin name. “Corenkyn is a modern-day ‘kenning’ or word picture, created by joining two previously unrelated words, meaning ‘Chosen’ and ‘Relation’ – and that is how we at Ad Gefrin want to view our founding members. Ad Gefrin is about bringing people together, making them feel welcome and sharing the true spirit of Northumbrian hospitality. The Corenkyn will be at the very heart of this; there from the beginning, investing in an amazing journey for us all.”
Corenkyn members will benefit from lifetime access to the Exhibition and Distillery Tours and recognition within the new building in perpetuity. There will also be a bottle of Ad Gefrin spirit every year for eight years; first an exclusive Corenkyn Blend Collection, released with a different cask finish for the first five years, followed by a bottle of the Ad Gefrin Single Malt for the remainder.
For Mark Murray, who was born and brought up in Wooler, a proud Northumbrian now living in Australia, Corenkyn provides the ability to directly invest in a transformative new business venture on home turf. “I grew up on a farm outside Wooler and moved oversees in order to pursue my career,” says Mark. “My immediate family are still in the Glendale area, and I continue to connect with and support various local initiatives. As a whisky collector (and consumer!), I am very excited to hear about the launch of Ad Gefrin’s new membership program.”
Co-founder of the project, Eileen Ferguson remarks: “Community spirit is behind everything we are looking to achieve with Ad Gefrin. We are excited that Sharon has created this wonderful opportunity for people from all over the world to get involved with the project. It is particularly special if, like Mark, they have ties to the Glendale area.”
For further information on what opportunities the new Corenkyn Membership Package offers visit www.adgefrin.co.uk.
Notes:
- Ad Gefrin opens in Autumn 2022.
- Ad Gefrin Single Malt Whisky will mature from 2025 onwards.
- The Ad Gefrin visitor experience and whisky distillery will be a major new cultural asset and business opportunity that will accelerate regeneration and economic growth, and boost productivity, in an important part of North Northumberland’s rural economy.
- The new cultural centre will offer an immersive AV and museum interpretation of the Northumbrian royal capital of Ad Gefrin and the Golden Age of the Kingdom of Northumbria. It will link with the landscape, archaeology, and stories of the area, as well as trails through the Northumberland National Park, encouraging visitors to explore and spend time and money across the wider Borderlands area.
- It will be a significant new business for Northumberland, creating a distinctive visitor destination celebrating Northumberland’s unique culture and heritage, alongside the first whisky distillery in the area for 200 years, reviving a long tradition of whisky making in Northumberland.
- The distillery will produce a new and distinctive Northumbrian whisky product, creating new wealth and jobs through sales in UK and international markets.
- Ad Gefrin will become a long-term employer in Wooler (creating up to 50 FTE jobs by Year 5), supporting training and employment across the hospitality, visitor engagement and spirit production sectors.
- Ad Gefrin has received £3m through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal and has also received £1m from the North East Rural Growth Network – Strategic Economic Infrastructure Fund (SEIF) through the North East LEP, and £600k through Northumberland County Council.
About Borderlands Partnership
The Borderlands Partnership consists of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council. The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal was agreed between the Borderlands Partnership, the UK Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Scotland Office) and the Scottish Government in March 2021. The Deal will deliver up to £350 million investment in projects across the region from the UK and Scottish Governments alongside local investment of £100 million. Projects in England are supported through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government funding including Ad Gefrin. More information can be found at www.borderlandsgrowth.com
About Yeavering (the archaeological site of Ad Gefrin) 4 miles from Ad Gefrin Visitor Experience and Distillery
Internationally renowned, Yeavering is one of the most extensively excavated Anglo-Saxon palace complexes in Europe and the only archaeological site to have evidence of a timber grandstand and gathering place. This was the 7th Century royal residence of early Anglo-Saxon kings and queens including Aethelfrith, Edwin and Aethelburga, the saintly Oswald and his younger brother Oswy. Discovered in 1949 through aerial photography and excavated by Brian Hope-Taylor in the 1950’s and 60’s, the scheduled archaeological site is today under the ownership and management of The Gefrin Trust. The Trust was formed to ensure the future preservation of the site through sympathetic management, conservation and investigation. Ad Gefrin Visitor Experience and Distillery is working in partnership with The Gefrin Trust to further reveal the importance of the archaeological site within the exhibition at the Visitor Centre.
For more information visit adgefrin.co.uk.
LinkedIn: @ad-gefrin-distillery / Facebook: @AdGefrin / Instagram: @adgefrin
Aged in oak and former Sherry casks, this enticing Scotch has a ripe red-apple scent and rich salted caramel and butterscotch on the palate. It’s powerful, with a thick, buttery feel and a long finish of lip-smacking spice cake and sea brine notes. (KN) 
(12/2015)
