End Of A Dry Spell

The first whisky distillery in the Scottish Borders since 1837 has been built with pride in Hawick

ON March 6, 2018, at 10.11am, new-make spirit started to flow from the copper pot stills at The Borders Distillery in Hawick. And with that steady trickle a new era was heralded for an area that’s long been dry of usige beatha.

“The only reason whisky distillation ceased in the Borders was because way back in the early 19th century you had to pay an English excise man, coming across the border on horseback, his share of the action,” explained Tim Carton, CEO of the Three Stills Company (TTSC), owners of The Borders Distillery.

“That caused some businesses to go under. It caused others to go to the Highlands and Islands where they weren’t within such easy reach!”

Where geography and market forces may have conspired against Scotch producers in the Borders before, they’ve combined in perfect harmony in the present day.

Tim Carton, John Fordyce, Tony Roberts and George Tait founded TTSC aiming to capitalise on the growth of Scotch – while sensing a massive, untapped opportunity.

Having worked for world-leading thread manufacturer COATS plc, John Fordyce identified Hawick as a potential location for a new venture.

John knew that the town not only boasted a plentiful supply of magnificent water but, owing to its rich manufacturing heritage, it also had an adept workforce with transferable skills. This, coupled with the absence of an operational distillery and the fact that the region is the heartland for barley production in the UK, made Hawick a tantalising prospect.

Tim added, “There were some very convincing arguments for us to look to the Scottish Borders.”

In November 2015 TTSC put its money where its mouth was and announced that it had reached its £10m fundraising target to be able to realise its vision.

Work started a year later on the 13,000 sq metre (139,931 sq ft) site overlooking the River Teviot.

The site houses two large sheds, dating from 1888, and a Tudor Cotswold building, which was constructed by Hawick Urban Electric Company in 1903.

TTSC took the decision to preserve as much of the buildings’ historical features in the redevelopment as they could and, under the guidance of GMA Architects and contractors M & J Ballantyne, a project of worthy of a Grand Designs mini-series got under way.

Wherever possible, materials have been salvaged,

“The town boasts a plentiful supply of workforce” magnificent water and an adept