Name

The Borders Distillery

Legal name

The Borders Distillery Company Limited

Website

https://thebordersdistillery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Scotch Whisky and Distilled Spirits

NAICS

Distilleries (312140), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (42482)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Distilleries (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAG), Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka) (THAJAGAF), Distilled Spirits Production & Distilling (AFAFAAAC), Liquor Stores (Off-Premise Spirits Retail) (CRANABAA)

Keywords

• Scotch whisky production
• Craft gin distillery
• Private cask ownership
• Malted barley spirits
• Distillery visitor experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottish Borders

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Spirits Retail Sales: Direct retail sales of whisky blends, gin, and vodka through the on-site Visitor Centre shop and the e-commerce website. Product range includes Kerr's Gin, Puffing Billy Steam Vodka, Lower East Side Whisky, Clan Fraser Reserve, and Workshop Series blended Scotch whiskies. Also sells merchandise including glassware, clothing, and tweed throws. UK delivery only; EU shipping suspended post-Brexit.
2. 1837 Private Cask Programme: Sale of private whisky casks for long-term maturation under the 1837 brand. Price of £2,400 includes new make spirit, cask, filling, warehousing for ten years, insurance, bottling, labelling, and 1837 membership. Cask owners receive complimentary tour vouchers, a 18.37% discount on shop products, and early access to limited releases. Sample requests at £45 per sample. Extended storage beyond 10 years incurs additional warehousing charges.
3. Distillery Tours and Experiences: Revenue from guided distillery tours (bookable online, from £15 per person), 'Distiller for a Day' immersive full-day experience, and venue hire for private events. The Visitor Centre shop is open Monday-Saturday 10am-4:30pm (summer) and Monday-Friday 10am-4:30pm (winter).
4. Private Sales (Bulk Whisky): Private Sales initiative offering bulk Scotch whisky stock directly from bonded warehouses at source. Targets portfolio builders, volume buyers, and whisky-at-scale investors. Fully traceable from cask to custody.
5. UK Trade / Wholesale: Trade account registration for UK wholesale buyers stocking The Borders Distillery spirits. Trade accounts require valid VAT number. Currently only UK addresses; international trade enquiries directed to [email protected].

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Borders Distillery distils and sells blended Scotch whisky, Scottish gin (Kerr's Gin) and malted barley vodka (Puffing Billy Steam Vodka) from its Hawick distillery using locally grown Scottish Borders barley. It also operates the 1837 Private Cask ownership programme (10-year maturation included), runs distillery tours and the Distiller for a Day experience, and sells merchandise and gift items via its e-commerce site and Visitor Centre shop.

Product overview

The Borders Distillery is a craft spirits producer and distillery offering a portfolio of alcoholic beverages and experiences. Core products include blended Scotch whiskies (WS:01 Borders Malt & Rye, WS:02 The Long & Short of It, Right As Rain, Lower East Side Whisky, Clan Fraser Reserve), gin (Kerr's Gin, Kerr's Navy Strength Gin), and vodka (Puffing Billy Steam Vodka), alongside a New Make Spirit (WS:00) awaiting Single Malt maturation. The 1837 Private Casks programme enables direct cask ownership. Services include distillery tours, the Distiller for a Day experience, venue hire, and Private Sales for bulk acquisitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kerr's Gin: Scottish gin made with malted barley spirit in a Carterhead Still, featuring bright juniper, citrus, ginger, herbs, and a hint of liquorice.
• Puffing Billy Steam Vodka
• Lower East Side Whisky
• Clan Fraser Reserve
• The Workshop Series
• 1837

Products and services

• 1837 Private Casks Private whisky cask ownership programme allowing customers to own an individually numbered cask of new make spirit that matures into Single Malt Scotch Whisky. £2,400 includes new make spirit, cask, filling, 10-year warehousing, insurance, bottling, labelling and 1837 app membership, with complimentary distillery tour vouchers and an 18.37% shop discount. Aimed at whisky collectors, enthusiasts and investors.
• New Make Spirit (WS:00) New make spirit at 63.5% ABV that will mature into the distillery's own Single Malt, made from Scottish Borders barley grown within 30 miles of the distillery. Winner of World Whiskies Awards Best New Make Spirit in Scotland 2024.
• WS:01 Borders Malt & Rye First Scotch Whisky Blend to leave the Scottish Borders since 1837. Blend of rye spirit and malt whisky aged in fresh-fill bourbon casks, bottled without filtration at 40% ABV, each bottle individually numbered.
• WS:02 The Long & Short of It Experimental blended Scotch whisky combining short fermentation (55 hours) and long fermentation (150 hours) whiskies, twice distilled and matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels before being married with a splash of single grain whisky. Each bottle individually numbered.
• Right As Rain Blended Scotch Whisky Blended Scotch whisky with notes of tinned peaches, vanilla fudge, fig, red apple pie and caramel; creamy and warming character. Sold at £35 per 70cl bottle.
• Lower East Side Whisky Blend of single malts from across Scotland, matured in American Oak casks with vanilla, almond and honey notes and a hint of smoke. 2021 Warsaw Spirits Competition Gold Winner. Sold at £35 per 70cl bottle.
• Clan Fraser Reserve Whisky Distinctive blend of Scotland's single malt and grain whiskies with butter and honey notes on the nose, raisin and fig on the palate, wrapped in hints of spice. Sold at £25 per 70cl bottle.
• Kerr's Gin Scottish gin made with malted barley spirit in a Carterhead Still, the only Scottish gin made this way. Made entirely from Scottish Borders barley grown within 35 miles of the distillery, featuring bright juniper, citrus, ginger, herbs and a hint of liquorice. 2021 Gold winner of the Warsaw Spirits Competition. Sold at £30 per 70cl bottle.
• Kerr's Navy Strength Gin Limited-edition navy strength variant of Kerr's Gin at 57.1% ABV, produced using the same Carterhead Still and Scottish Borders malted barley as the original.
• Puffing Billy Steam Vodka Unfiltered malted barley vodka, the only vodka in the world made by steaming spirit through charcoal inside the still rather than conventional filtration, producing a creamy mouthfeel with tropical fruit, citrus and banana notes. Sold at £30 per 70cl bottle.
• Distillery Tour Guided distillery tour lasting approximately 45 minutes, led by a distiller, covering the history of the building and the distilling process and finishing with a complimentary tasting. Maximum 12 adults per tour, from £15 per person, available Monday to Saturday.
• Distiller for a Day Full-day immersive hands-on distilling experience alongside the distillery team covering milling, mashing, distillation, warehousing and sampling. Guests fill their own cask and receive a Distiller's Certificate, with uniform and lunch included.
• Distillery Venue Hire Private event hire of the restored Hawick distillery building (former Urban Electric Company) for corporate and personal events. Venue is the 2018 AJ Architecture Heritage Project of the Year, 2019 Scottish Design Awards Re-use of a Listed Building winner and 2019 RIAS HES Award recipient.
• Private Sales (Bulk Whisky) Enquiry-based bulk acquisition of maturing Scotch whisky stock directly from The Borders Distillery's bonded warehouses, fully traceable from cask to custody. Targets portfolio builders, volume buyers and whisky-at-scale investors.
• The Cornet's Blend Limited-edition celebratory blended Scotch whisky released to mark the 2026 Hawick Common Riding, hand-selected by Cornet J. Nuttall. Limited to 512 bottles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Award: World Whiskies Awards 2024 — Best New Make Spirit in Scotland
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lovat MillminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLovat Mill, located on Commercial Road in Hawick, is The Borders Distillery's neighbour — metres from the distillery. Known worldwide as 'The Home of Tweed', Lovat Mill created the Borders Distillery Tweed Throw, inspired by the whisky-making process and the surrounding Borders landscape. Both businesses share the same water, landscape, and craft heritage. The partnership produces a co-branded merchandise item (tweed throw at £60) that celebrates the intersection of Hawick's textile and spirits traditions.
• Borders Growers and DistillerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBorders Growers and Distillers is an in-house programme established by The Borders Distillery to formalise relationships with the Borders farming community. Barley is sourced from 12 local farms, all within 35 miles of the Hawick distillery, providing full traceability from barley to bottle. This is a foundational supply chain partnership that underpins the distillery's provenance story and is a prerequisite for the Workshop Series production.
• Tara Mactaggart (Professional Golfer)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTara Mactaggart is a professional golfer from Hawick, playing on the Ladies European/Access Tour. The Borders Distillery was her first sponsor and has supported her career since she turned professional. Her golf bag carries the TBD logo, providing brand visibility at tournaments across the circuit. The sponsorship aligns the distillery with local sporting talent and community ties.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nc'nean Distillery: Independent Scottish craft distillery producing single malt whisky, gin, and vodka with a strong sustainability and provenance narrative. Directly comparable to The Borders Distillery as a small, new-wave Scotch producer building a DTC and cask-ownership model around heritage and craft credentials.
• Isle of Harris Distillery: Single malt Scotch distillery launched in the 2010s with an emphasis on provenance, design-led visitor experience, and award-winning gin alongside its whisky. Highly comparable GTM: experiential tourism, branded merchandise, and DTC-led sales from a remote Scottish location.
• Arbikie Distillery: Family-owned farm-to-bottle Scottish distillery producing single malt whisky, gin, and vodka from estate-grown cereals. Directly comparable on the field-to-bottle supply chain story, vertical integration, and craft positioning in a non-traditional region.
• Torabhaig Distillery: Single malt Scotch distillery on Skye that opened in the 2010s with a strong provenance story, cask-ownership programme, and architectural tourism focus. Highly comparable on visitor-centre model, private cask sales, and emerging Single Malt positioning.
• InchDairnie Distillery: Lowland Scotland single malt distillery launched in the 2010s with experimental cask programmes and a craft-led product line. Comparable as a fellow young Scottish distillery building brand around novel production methods and limited releases ahead of aged Single Malt availability.
• Annandale Distillery: Restored single malt Scotch distillery revived after a long closure, focused on heritage storytelling, cask ownership, and visitor experiences. Directly comparable to The Borders Distillery's revival-from-historic-closure narrative and experiential GTM.
• Strathearn Distillery: Small-batch Highland Scotch distillery producing single malt, gin, and vodka using craft methods and a strong experimental range. Comparable on multi-category craft spirits output, novel production techniques, and small-scale DTC operations.
• GlenWyvis Distillery: Community-owned Speyside distillery founded in the 2010s, built around crowdfunding cask ownership and a craft Scotch identity. Comparable on the private cask ownership model and emerging new-make positioning ahead of aged Single Malt launch.

Emerging players

• Eden Mill St Andrews: Scottish craft distillery producing gin, whisky, and vodka with a heritage-led brand and a strong visitor centre and retail offering. Comparable product portfolio breadth and DTC-tourism GTM, though with a more mature gin heritage than The Borders Distillery.

Broad incumbents

• Diageo: Global spirits major owning the largest portfolio of Scotch distilleries and brands. Relevant as the broad incumbent defining trade terms, distribution standards, and consumer expectations that The Borders Distillery must compete against in UK retail and on-premise channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheBordersDistillery
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebordersdistillery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-borders-distillery
• Instagraminstagram.com/thebordersdistillery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Borders Distillery