At the top of a twisting driveway, the Crafty Distillery enjoys a glorious view of the Galloway landscape. Situated just outside Newton Stewart, it is best known for its gin production but has branched out more recently into vodka and whisky. Its products are already stocked in a number of major supermarkets and hundreds of independent retailers but the company now has plans to expand.
Founder and managing director Graham Taylor said it could allow them to increase production, hire more staff and boost turnover signficantly. The story of the distillery goes back to 2014 when Graham was working abroad but was keen to move back to the area where he grew up and start a business. "I was working in the design industry, but I had an interest in spirits," he explained.
"I guess my dad was a whisky fan and both me and my brother got into drinking whisky over the years." He spotted a distillery for sale in the area but could not afford to buy it so, instead, ended up finding a site where they could build their own. They started building in 2016 and completed it early the following year.
And when it came to developing their first gin, it was inspired by their surroundings. "First and foremost, we are a Galloway distillery," said Graham. "You've got Cairnsmore of Fleet in front of you, you look up to the Merrick, you've got the history and we've got this absolute bounty of botanicals.
"So when we went to develop our first product, which was the Hills and Harbour gin we wanted to capture.