New Eden Mill distillery near St Andrews fills first whisky cask

A new distillery in St Andrews has celebrated becoming fully operational by filling its first whisky cask.

Gin and whisky producer Eden Mill has completed commissioning at its new distillery, with both gin and single malt whisky now actively being produced on-site.

The building’s completion marks the end of 21 months of work, following a handover from the University of St Andrews in June 2023.

To mark the occasion, the first Eden Mill cask – made from Scottish Oak – was filled at the site on Monday, April 7.

The huge distillery holds a mash tun, six washbacks, a gin still, wash and spirit stills, hot liquor tanks and a cask warehouse with space to store 300 casks.

The site has a capacity of one million litres of pure alcohol (LPA) per year.

Eden Mill officially filled their first cask at the site. mintycommunications via Supplied

Located ten minutes from St Andrews town centre on the university’s Eden Campus, the facility will offer gin and whisky experiences, a retail space and a top-floor cocktail bar featuring views over the Eden Estuary.

Work on the visitor centre is expected to be completed this summer, with a planned opening in August.

Chief executive Rennie Donaldson said: “To be able to announce that our new distillery is now fully operational is incredibly exciting, and we are just a few short months away from being able to open our doors to the public and welcome visitors from all over the world.”

With just under 400 casks remaining from the single malt distilled at the original Eden distillery located on the same site, the team is now turning their attention to restarting whisky production, with a view to filling hundreds more casks with their new-make spirit.

The core gin range will also be distilled at the new premises and will soon be relaunched in a redesigned bottle.

The site has a capacity of one million litres of pure alcohol (LPA) per year. mintycommunications via Supplied

The business is working on various sustainability initiatives, including its partnership with MiAlgae, which was announced in October.

Eden Mill’s Head Distiller Scott Ferguson said: “Following the installation of our copper stills in January, we have been progressing towards getting the distillery operational and refining our new-make spirit.

“My objective is to replicate the profile of what we used to distil at our original site – a light, sweet spirit with floral and grassy notes. I am looking forward to coming to work at this beautiful location every day and to overseeing the distillation of our excellent products.”