Isle of Barra Distillers has broken its crowdfunding target to raise £800k to help build a distillery for its first whisky.
The Scottish distillery started in 2017 and sells gin, vodka, and rum into supermarkets like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Lidl.
In January, it started building a new £12m single malt distillery on the island of Barra. The site will be Scotland’s most westerly distillery and is due to open in October 2026.
This means Barra’s first single malt could come of age within the next five years.
The business was initially looking to raise £750k, with £600k to be allocated for the next phase of the distillery build, including production and equipment.
It said the remaining £150k would help drive business growth through marketing, distribution, product innovation and team development.
“Isle of Barra Distillers has strong growth potential in the next 12 months, expanding exports to China/Hong Kong and India while strengthening UK sales through Waitrose,” the business said on its crowdfunding page.
Husband-and-wife duo Michael and Katie Morrison founded the Isle of Barra Distillers in 2017 and began planning the new distillery in 2021.
Once complete, the distillery will have its own bottling site and bonded warehouse. It expects to produce around 1,600 casks each year.
The new distillery should provide jobs on the island where opportunities for its 1,200 inhabitants can be limited. The company plans to create 14 new jobs in the first year, with plans to grow to 40 within a decade.
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