00:00I'm Roslyn Derskin, Food and Jink Editor for The Scotsman, and I'm here at Galloway Distillery with Sam Heughan.
00:06Cheers, good to see you. Thanks for coming here.
00:08That's all right, thanks for having us.
00:10So we are here today because you've got a big announcement, it's exciting news.
00:14Do you want to tell us what's going on?
00:15Yes, we're here in Galloway. This is the Galloway Distillery.
00:20It's a project we've been working on for a number of years, but I'm really happy.
00:23It's our opening day. The weather gods have brought the Galloway Scottish weather,
00:27but we're really happy. It's a place that we're really hoping to expand on and produce really special spirits.
00:36So you've taken over?
00:38Yes. This is a new project. We wanted to create a distillery in Galloway.
00:43It's basically a homecoming for me. I was born and raised here.
00:47I feel very, very thankful. It's such an amazing place.
00:50People come to Scotland, especially tourists, and they go up north and they go to Skye and they go to Glencoe,
00:55but actually there's so much to discover in Galloway.
00:59It really has so much from the coastline to amazing ruins to stone circles and, of course, amazing spirits.
01:07And my journey here was basically I started working with the guys here on our wild Scottish gin a number of years ago.
01:17And we realised that we really wanted to create a new distillery here in New Galloway.
01:22And so we've got the Sassanac, right?
01:24This is the Sassanac, yeah.
01:25Yeah.
01:26So we're a house of many brands now.
01:28We have the Galloway Distillery.
01:30We have the Sassanac in Goldsquit Hills and Harbour, and we're going to start producing today.
01:34We're about to fill our first barrel of Galloway whisky.
01:37And you're producing a vodka as well, is that right?
01:40Sassanac?
01:40We are, yes.
01:42It's the best of Scotland's produce.
01:46The wheat is from Galloway.
01:47So Galloway wheat.
01:48I looked at different kinds of vodkas, and I wasn't much of a vodka fan, and I really dug into it.
01:54And we realised Scotland produces amazing wheat.
01:57And then we realised actually apples and brambles adds like a real crisp freshness to it, a brightness to it.
02:03But also the brambles add this like, I don't know, like richness to it.
02:07So it's very luxurious vodka, really delicious.
02:11So I think we'll have a lot of converts when they try this vodka.
02:14And I was speaking to Craig earlier, because you are very heavily involved with creation of these.
02:18Because you know how there's some, you know, famous people who just put their names to things,
02:21but you're actually really quite involved, aren't you?
02:23I mean, the Galloway distillery is my dream.
02:28Self-financed.
02:30We've been working on this for a long time.
02:31The Sassanac, obviously, is the same.
02:35Yeah, absolutely.
02:36And I think poor Craig, our master distiller, you know, I put him through the ringer with the gin and then the vodka.
02:41We thought the vodka would be easy, but actually, it turns out it's actually really complicated.
02:46But I think we've created something really, really special, really unique.
02:49I think people are going to really warm to it.
02:51And, you know, I think it's a real representation of great Scottish produce.
02:57And can you tell us a bit about the whiskey that you're putting in the cask today?
03:00Today we're doing a PX Cherry cask.
03:03We have hundreds of barrels already that we've been putting aside and laying down.
03:12But this is our first one from the Galloway distillery.
03:14So, yeah, we're going to have a real, I don't know, a real exploration of what is good Galloway whiskey.
03:20We also are growing our own barley.
03:23We have a couple of fields of barley here.
03:25So we're thinking about, you know, obviously at some point we'd love to do a single malt.
03:29But, yeah, there's a lot of ideas out there.
03:33I think perhaps the first whiskey release will probably be a blend because obviously it takes time.
03:40But we're getting there and I'm really excited.
03:42The whiskey is phenomenal.
03:43Our new make is amazing.
03:45Yeah, because there's been a lot of sort of technical work with the university.
03:48And, you know, it's not just your usual distillery.
03:51I've seen it and it's quite...
03:53We go to the nth degree.
03:55Craig is, you know, a master of what he does.
03:58And, you know, even looking at the gin process, you know, we've got, you know, we're freeze drying botanicals.
04:05We're creating resins.
04:06We're really kind of going in depth to it.
04:09And I think if you try our new make, I'm just really amazed to see where it goes when it's been aged in wood
04:14because it's got some really interesting kind of like tropical fruit flavor in it.
04:21So, yeah, we'll see what happens when it sits in a delicious sherry cask for a number of years.
04:26And so, yeah, first release another blend.
04:28So it'll be another kind of similar to the one you've already got.
04:32Yeah, I mean, we actually haven't decided.
04:34We've got a number of avenues we're looking at.
04:35But I would love to do, you know, something that's slightly different.
04:40Obviously, we've got, you know, this beautiful Sassanac whiskey, which is a great blend.
04:44But, yeah, I don't know how we're going to finish it yet.
04:46We've got a number of avenues.
04:47I love wine barrels as well.
04:50I think they'll be really interesting.
04:52Maybe dessert wine.
04:54Who knows?
04:55Yeah, I mean, it's exciting times.
04:57It's honestly, it's like a playground.
04:59It's amazing getting to play with different barrels and seeing how it ages over time as well.
05:03And obviously, you know, things take time here in Scotland.
05:06The weather's not the best.
05:07But it's so fun.
05:09These guys we're working with are amazing.
05:11Our whole team here, so hardworking.
05:13And we're just trying to create, as you can see, you know, this sort of beautiful surroundings.
05:18There's so much nature, so much history in Galloway.
05:20So we want to impart a bit of that to people that come visit.
05:24And, you know, you've talked about your childhood here and, like, you know, this is your coming home.
05:28How much do you see yourself spending time here, like, possibly in the future?
05:32I mean, I've already been here a lot.
05:35You know, we came down.
05:36These are our botties that we've built.
05:39These are made with 100% Scottish oak.
05:42Handmade.
05:43There's no, like, nails or anything.
05:44It's all been wood pegs.
05:46So it's really crafted.
05:48And we want to make these into tasting rooms.
05:51You can hire them either separately or together.
05:53We want to do different tastings.
05:55I've been down here a lot.
05:56You know, this wasn't here at all.
05:57We've put down all this paving, created this outdoor area, and planted over 100 botanicals,
06:03which are all coming up now, which look fantastic and smell amazing.
06:07You can smell them now.
06:07But, yeah, so I'm heavily involved.
06:09I'll be here a lot, as much as I can be.
06:11Nice.
06:12Any future plans that you can tell us about?
06:17Yeah, we've planning permission, and we're working towards a larger whiskey distillery,
06:23which will be over the site.
06:25Which is to the east of the current distillery.
06:29It's where the car park is now.
06:31Yeah, we'd love to expand and just invite more people down, not just to see the distillery,
06:36but to see Galloway.
06:37It's got so much to offer.
06:38You know, as I said, there's great coastlines, amazing history, amazing castles and food producers.
06:44So we want to celebrate them as well.
06:46So we're trying to highlight a lot of craft people.
06:49We've got amazing ceramicists who's doing our, I guess, our tableware, our glassware.
06:55We've got some leather makers.
06:59We've got local illustrators doing our logo and our branding.
07:02So we really want to, like, help, I don't know, showcase Galloway and everything it has to offer.
07:08So when you came to these guys for your gym, did you sort of come with the idea of, like, with the distillery,
07:13like, taking over the distillery, or did it all kind of happen?
07:16We've actually been looking for a long time.
07:18We had a number of different sites that we were looking at.
07:20But, honestly, this just felt right.
07:24You know, the guys here, all local boys, I'm a local boy, and I just love working with them.
07:31And then we realized, you know, this is an opportunity, and we decided that Galloway needs its own distillery, its own brand.
07:39I think Scotland itself needs a new region.
07:43I think the Galloway should be its own region.
07:45It's such an amazing place, very different to the rest of Scotland, you know, 12 miles from Ireland.
07:51You can see the lights of Ireland.
07:53You can see the Isle of Man.
07:54You can see England, the Lake Districts across the Solway of Firth.
07:57It's had history of, like, Vikings here, you know, the Romans.
08:01You've got the Gales, you know.
08:03So it really was, really is a very, very special place.
08:07Which is interesting, because the Lowland is so, the Lowland region in Swiski is so massive.
08:12Like, Fife is trying to kind of do its own thing.
08:14And you guys are, so it would be interesting to see if it does break up into, like, smaller little pockets.
08:18Yeah, I think, you know, the Lowland region is, you know, it covers such a large area.
08:24And I think it needs more categorization, I guess.
08:27But also, yeah, looking, I mean, there are a couple of other distilleries here.
08:31We'd love to, like, perhaps start working with them, create a, you know, a Galloway distillery tour.
08:37Yeah, there's so much to explore here.
08:39And I think it really is the undiscovered place.
08:42So, yeah, much more work to do as well.
08:45Nice.
08:45And just quickly, on your new book, The Cocktail Diaries.
08:48Yes, somewhere up here.
08:49It's over there.
08:50It's over there.
08:52That's an exciting time as well.
08:53So you've obviously clearly been talking about cocktails quite a lot.
08:57Are you, you know, do you have a one for the vodka?
09:00Or, you know, when you spend a couple of nights, do you have a cocktail you recommend for your new vodka?
09:04Oh, I mean, so for the vodka, well, look, I'm a martini guy.
09:08And I've always been a gin, dry gin martini.
09:11Our vodka makes an amazing martini.
09:14But, yeah, I mean, it's, vodka kind of goes in a lot of cocktails.
09:18The Cocktail Diaries book came about because we were meeting a lot of producers.
09:23A lot of my travels around Scotland, but also abroad to Mexico.
09:28We did our tequila collaboration.
09:31And just meeting amazing producers, amazing bartenders, I kind of wanted just to, I don't know, I guess, share some of the amazing stories and experiences I've had whilst on this spirits adventure.
09:44So, yeah, it's out now.
09:46And it's been a really fun project to do.
09:48And we've got a bit at the back, which has some bartenders from the top 50 bars in the world.
09:53And they've gone away and created some cocktails with the Sassanac and come up with these amazing cocktails.
09:59So, yeah, a lot of fun to celebrate these, I don't know, geniuses, really.
10:03Great mixologists.
10:04Oh, yeah, it's become like almost like being a chef now.
10:06It really is.
10:08I mean, cocktail making is like being a Michelin star chef.
10:10In some places, you're going to such a large degree of process.
10:14So the cocktails in the book should be very accessible.
10:18I'm not a mixologist.
10:19I'm not a great bartender, but I am an enthusiast.
10:23And I'm trying to show that actually it's really easy.
10:26A couple of ingredients, three ingredient cocktails are simple.
10:29They're classic.
10:30They go deep back to the 1800s.
10:32So easy to make.
10:33And then they get more complex as you go through the book.
10:36I meant to ask you this last time, and you're probably stuck to getting asked this.
10:39But when we last spoke about your gin and you like a martini, shaken or stirred?
10:43Oh, come on now.
10:44It's got to be stirred.
10:45But actually, you know, it depends on the occasion.
10:47I think that's always like, you know, what's your favorite drink or how do you like things?
10:50But yeah, I mean, I would say the vodka, if you want something refreshing, you know,
10:54you shake it and, you know, you get a lot more ice shards in there.
10:58You're going to get a lot more dilution.
10:59So it's going to be more refreshing.
11:01Whereas like a stirred down cocktail is obviously going to be a lot more strong, a lot less diluted.
11:06Really depends on the situation, I guess.
11:10Well, yeah.
11:12Is anything else that you...
11:14I just say thank you so much for coming.
11:15Please come down to Galloway.
11:17It's an amazing place.
11:18Even when the weather's dreach like this, we've got this beautiful distillery, amazing courtyard.
11:24And come and try our spirits.
11:25See what we've got to offer here in Galloway.
11:27Cheers to that.
11:27Great to see you.
11:28Yeah, thanks very much.
11:29Thanks for coming.
11:29Thanks for coming.
11:30Thanks for coming.
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