60°47′52″N 0°49′26″W / 60.7978°N 0.824°W / 60.7978; -0.824

Saxa Vord distillery
Region: Island
LocationIsle of Unst
Founded2015

Saxa Vord distillery is a Scotch whisky and gin distillery on the island of Unst, part of the Shetland islands.[1][2][3][4][5] The distillery takes its name from its location immediately south of RAF Saxa Vord, an RAF station and headland. The distillery buildings are adjacent to the SaxaVord Spaceport.[6]

It is the most northerly distillery in the United Kingdom.[7][8] The distillery is the first legal distillery on the Shetland Islands and the first ever legal whisky in Shetland.[8]

History

The distillery company was first established in 2012 by Wilma and Stuart Nickerson (formerly of William Grant & Sons), and Frank and Debbie Strang.[2][6] By 2013, plans proposed modifying former RAF buildings at Saxa Vord to house the distillery.[9] The first gin was produced in August 2015 and the first blended whisky released in November 2015.[4]

Products

The distillery produces drinks under the Shetland Reel brand.[4] Their standard products include an island-distilled gin and a blended Single malt whisky. The gin is made with botanicals include apple mint.[8][10]

The company exports its products to numerous countries, including the US, Canada and Sweden.[7]

The distillery has also produced a limited cask-aged gin.[11]

References

  1. ^ Wishart, David (2020). Whisky Classified. Choosing Single Malts by Flavour. Pavilion Books. p. 263. ISBN 978-1911595731.
  2. ^ a b Ridley, Neil (2019). The World of Whisky. Taste, Try and Enjoy Whiskies from Around the World. Pavilion Books. ISBN 978-1911663072.
  3. ^ Laing, Fiona (2019). The Gin Clan: Scottish Gins and Distilleries. Great Northern Books. ISBN 978-1912101481.
  4. ^ a b c "Shetland Reel". Scotch Whisky.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  5. ^ Buxton, Ian (2017). Whiskies Galore. A Tour of Scotland's Island Distilleries. Birlinn. p. 271. ISBN 978-0857903518.
  6. ^ a b "Private equity firm buys £2m stake in Shetland satellite launch site". Insider. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Scotland's most northerly gin maker wins export deals with US, Canada and Sweden". Scotsman. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Shetland distiller takes title of most northerly UK gin". The Spirits Business. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Shetland whisky ambition at former Saxa Vord RAF base". BBC News. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  10. ^ Carrell, Severin (27 December 2015). "I have a dram: meet the whisky micro-distillers springing up across Scotland". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Shetland Reel Up Helly Aa cask aged gin is back on sale for 2022". Scotsman. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
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