THE Scottish distillery behind Pickering’s Gin is to expand with plans to double its capacity and enter Scotch whisky markets around the world.
Summerhall Distillery said its first whisky has combined casks of whisky from Highland distilleries to create the new blend, called The Broody Hen.
The whisky is blended and bottled on site at the Edinburgh distillery, with casks selected by co-founders Matt Gammell and Marcus Pickering.
The launch of The Broody Hen marks the start of a period of significant growth for Summerhall Distillery, it said, following a strong bounce-back from the pandemic, with plans to release a range of drinks under The Broody Hen label including a ten-year-old single malt at the end of 2022.
Bottling capacity is expected to double by early 2023 as the firm moves the majority of whisky operations to a bigger warehouse facility, creating up to three new jobs in its already 14 strong team.
Mr Pickering said: "This first foray into whisky has been something we’ve wanted to do since we first started out, but it's taken eight years of building up the right contacts and careful planning to get to where we are now.
“The resulting spirit is one we are very proud of and look forward to sharing with our customers. It is very soft, with a gentle flavour and sweet honeyed undertones."
The Broody Hen is aiming to expand to 12 markets in the coming 12 months, and pre-orders have been received from across six international markets, including the Bahamas, South Korea, North America, Japan, Singapore and Europe.
The distillery, which offers daily tours, occupies the site of the old Royal Dick Vet School. The 1000 sq ft space was developed by the founders who also worked on the Summerhall renovation.
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