A planned new whisky distillery will rekindle the history of a landed Wiltshire aristocratic family.
Baron Margadale, of Islay in the County of Argyll, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created on January 1, 1965, for the Conservative politician and former Salisbury MP John Morrison. The title is held by his grandson, Alastair, the third baron, who succeeded his father in 2003. The barony of Margadale is the most recent hereditary barony granted to an individual outside the royal family, and so Lord Margadale is the most junior of Britain’s hereditary peers. The barony is named after the area of Margadale, in Islay.
The new Wiltshire Whisky Distillery Company says it plans to develop a world-class single-estate spirits distillery on the picturesque Fonthill Estate. The industry team behind the venture is fundraising £3 million, to start distillation towards the end of this year with the distillery’s first spirits for sale in early 2022.
Sustainability is a key focus for the business and the distillery intends to be producing at carbon neutral from the start and, soon after, carbon negative, “making the market’s ambitions for tomorrow The Wiltshire Whisky Distillery Company’s goals for today.”
CEO Alistair Munro said: “It is a dream realised to be building our distillery within such a culturally-significant estate as Fonthill. Not only does it provide a rich backdrop for the development of our uniquely British brand, but it also enables us to achieve our ambition of creating a highly sustainable, single-estate offering. We will assess every business, brewing and distilling decision in terms of environmental impact, local provenance and sustainability.”
Wiltshire has long been famed for its excellent ales, and co-founder Alasdair ‘Eddie’ Large, an award-winning brewer, will produce the beer wash that forms the basis of the whiskies. He said: “Fonthill sits in the heart of the premium barley growing and malting region of England. The matching of Fonthill water, the grains, the yeast, and our fermenting process, combined with the unique Fonthill terroir, will allow us to produce the highest quality beer wash to feed our copper stills. The synergy in the crafts of brewing and premium whisky distillation will sit perfectly together in our distillery.”
The owners say the world whisky market is in an exceptionally dynamic period and within it, English whisky has a unique position drawing on a powerful twin legacy of gin distilling and craft-beer creation. In fewer than 15 years, a growing number of excellent English whiskies have achieved distribution in over 40 countries, and demand for brands which encapsulate the ‘best of British’ is accelerating.
The Wiltshire Whisky Distillery Company has an Initial capacity for 700,000 bottles rising to 3 million bottles within 7 years, making it one of the largest distilleries in England and with the size to become an important player on the global stage.
Lord Margadale, owner of Fonthill and a sister estate on the world-renowned whisky isle of Islay, is no stranger to the importance of provenance within whisky.
He said: “We look generations ahead with all our plans for the Fonthill Estate and could immediately see our long-term ambitions and values fit perfectly with those of The Wiltshire Whisky team.”
Important to the distillery will be the local and regional communities of Wiltshire. the company stresses, and it expects to offer several employment opportunities across all areas of the business as well as selling other craft Wiltshire goods from its onsite shop.
In addition to making whisky the distillery will also produce a range of gins and botanical spirits.
Not so many years ago, Lord Margadale himself, as the young Alastair Morrison, could be seen serving drinks in a country hotel in the nearby village of Hindon, where he lived before his father died.
