Spirit is now flowing at the first rum distillery in Dumfries & Galloway, after a year of building work. Ninefold Distillery, housed in a converted traditional stone built farm building near Lockerbie, is set to launch Dumfries and Galloway’s first traditionally distilled rum later this spring.
Ninefold Distillery is the only distillery in the south of Scotland to distil rum from scratch. The rum is being hand made on site by owner and distiller, Dr Kit Carruthers, in small batches from cane molasses, using a traditional copper pot still.
Dr Kit Carruthers, owner of Ninefold Distillery, said “After two years of planning and building work, it’s a fantastic feeling to be finally producing my own rum in Dumfriesshire. I’m currently developing and testing a white rum that’ll be amazing in cocktails, and I can’t wait to have it served in Mojitos, Daiquiris and Pina Coladas across Scotland.”
Kit added “Nearly £500,000 has been invested in the distillery, the vast majority of this spent on local and Scottish trades and businesses. The project has been part-financed by the Scottish Government and the European Union LEADER 2014-2020 programme, as well as by Scottish Enterprise and Dumfries & Galloway Council.”
While the first product to launch will be a white rum, rum will be casked and aged on site at the distillery to produce unique lowland aged rums. The distillery will complement existing whisky and gin distilleries in the region, marking Dumfries & Galloway, and Annandale in particular, as a producer of quality, premium spirits.