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14 October 2011
Hope and faith
By
Tim Power
Starting a distillery from scratch is an enormous challenge – physically, emotionally and financially. But Kilchoman’s Anthony Wills had a vision – and his prayers have been answered
Setting up a distillery is not for the faint-hearted,” admits Anthony Wills, as he stands in the grounds of Kilchoman’s ruined 19th-century church.
It’s a fitting location for a chat with the owner of Kilchoman Distillery. The once-thriving parish church, which sits in an elevated position a mile or so from the distillery, closed in 1977 due to a dwindling local population, and its crumbling, weather-beaten walls are a daily reminder of how circumstances can quickly change.
Kilchoman, on the north-west side of Islay, was key to Anthony’s vision of building a small-scale distillery that would produce an Islay single malt from ingredients sourced only on the island. The land here is remarkably fertile and, by building the distillery on the nearby Rockside farm, Anthony could grow and malt his own barley – making it unique on Islay.
Anthony readily admits he would have walked away from his dream of creating Islay’s newest and smallest whisky distillery if he had fully understood all the risks involved. But fortunately his enthusiasm and passion carried him through the tough times.
The distillery started production in November 2005 and, in 2009, after maturing in bourbon barrels and being finished in Oloroso sherry butts, Anthony took the bold decision to release a three-year old malt whisky.
And in June this year, Anthony’s dream was finally realised with the release of its first whisky produced from raw materials sourced only from the island (the three-year-old used a small amount of locally grown malt, with the bulk coming from Port Ellen Maltings) – named, not surprisingly, ‘100% Islay’.
Getting this far has been a labour of love for Anthony – overleaf, we hear more of his story, and meet the rest of the Kilchoman family...
Anthony Wills, owner
So how did an Englishman with a background in the wine trade end up building the eighth distillery on Islay? The story started in the mid-1990s when Anthony said goodbye to a 30-year career in the wine trade in London and headed to Scotland’s west coast with his family to try his arm at independent whisky bottling.
“There was a surge of interest in single malts at the time, which was good for me as I wanted to bottle at the premium end of the market,” explains Anthony. “However, I could see potential problems with supplies as I had no security over my own stocks – ultimately, it was not a sustainable business.”
The alternative option was to buy an old distillery… or build one! As a regular visitor to Islay, where his wife’s parents lived, Anthony had built up a friendship with a local farmer and that’s where the concept of a farm distillery was born.
“I really believed that there was a niche in the whisky market for a small farm distillery that used only local ingredients, malted its own barley and would benefit from the iconic Islay pedigree.”
Raising money for a venture that would not give a financial return for 10 to 15 years was a monumental challenge, but Anthony eventually raised the funds. He then sold his house, and had to raise more money when he underestimated the costs. But after spending £3.5 million, and many years of hard work, the Kilchoman Distillery started production in 2005.
The next big breakthrough came when Kilchoman’s whisky consultant Jim Swan suggested the unusual step of releasing the whisky for sale at three years old. “I’m bloody glad we did, as the cash flow has helped our business plan!” says Anthony.
This year’s release of ‘Islay 100%’ – made entirely from locally sourced ingredients – has confirmed that all the hard work and financial investment has been worth it. “This is what we have been working towards. It is a fantastic feeling,” says Anthony.
John MacLellan, general manager
John entered the whisky business in order to see more of his young daughter – as his career in fishing, which saw him working between 3am and 7pm, seriously affected his work-life balance.
It was a good decision, not just for his family, but also for his career, as he quickly rose from mashman at the Bunnahabhain Distillery to brewer and then distillery manager in just eight years.
So what made him jump ship from one of Islay’s renowned distilleries to the new kid on the block?
“I’d been impressed with the ethos of developing a farm distillery which is truly 100 per cent Islay – and even though I’ve managed a far larger distillery, I think small is beautiful too.
“I also love Anthony’s enthusiasm. He’s got a vision for Kilchoman and I’ve got the experience to make sure it happens.”
As general manager, John is responsible for ensuring the quality of the 100,000 litres of alcohol produced per year – which is equivalent to around two week’s production from his former distillery.
He says one of the most enjoyable parts of his job is meeting the many visitors who come to check out Islay’s newest distillery.
“We’ve certainly got a big following now. People have followed us from the start and seen how we have progressed. They can identify more readily with us – it’s like they have become part of our distillery family.”
Tony Rozga, stillman/mashman
Like John MacLellan, Islay-born Tony moved to Kilchoman last year after several years working for Bunnahabhain, and loves the dedication he can give to the distilling process.
“I like the idea that I can keep an eye on everything throughout the whole process. I watch every drop of the 300 litres we produce for each run to ensure it’s not too hot or cold, or running too fast or slow. It’s the control of the process – and that’s what quality is all about. We work slowly and steadily to allow the finer and purer alcohols to dominate.”
He also likes the fact that the stills are custom made for the distillery. “They are a great shape with lots of space to help the vapours calm down before they hit the condenser. However, they have their own ways of behaving: the wash still is a bit temperamental while the spirit still is much more sensible – sometimes I feel like I babysit them most of the time!”
Laura MacAfFer, visitor centre manager
Laura spent her early working years dividing her time between her mother’s hairdressers in Port Charlotte and being a nanny on the mainland – but took a job at the distillery after spotting an advert in the local paper for a trainee visitor centre manager position at Kilchoman.
“There were lots of rumours about this Englishman who had come to Islay to start up a distillery, so I was interested to see what he was up to,” says Laura.
“I used to work front-of-house for a local restaurant in the evenings, so I thought this experience would be useful. “When I met Anthony, I was knocked out by his enthusiasm for the business and realised how exciting it was – and I wanted the challenge.” Since Laura joined Kilchoman in 2008, she’s become something of a whisky expert and now takes two tours a day. “Even though I’m from Islay, I wasn’t much interested in whisky when I was younger, but now I find it fascinating.”
Peter Wills, UK sales manager
To say that alcohol runs in the blood of the Wills family is not an understatement. While Anthony runs the distillery, his eldest son George runs a pub in Wales and middle son James is brand manager for a range of cocktails in London – and now youngest son Peter has entered the family business.
He was eight when his family moved to Islay and has seen the distillery rise from its first foundations on the Rockside Farm and supply him with much-needed holiday jobs while studying.
“I’ve done everything from painting rafters and serving in the café to doing the bottling – I’m the general dogsbody around the distillery,” he jokes.
However, armed with his distillery experience and a recently completed degree in marketing from Northumbria University, Peter has moved to London as Kilchoman’s UK sales manager to “grow brand awareness”.
Peter wants to get the distinctive blue-branded malt whisky into some of the more salubrious whisky bars and retail outlets of the capital, including Harrods.
“I’m really looking forward to it and I’m really motivated to make it a success.”
Footnote: Gavin Douglas and Robin Bignall, both stillmen/mashmen, are the other members of the production team – but were not present during our visit.
Stone cold facts
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Kilchoman is one of only six distilleries in Scotland to malt its own barley on the floor of the distillery – and the only one that uses barley grown on the distillery farm.
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Kilchoman is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, operating 12 distillations a week to fill 20-22 casks.
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Eighty per cent of Kilchoman’s annual production of 100,000 litres is filled into a combination of fresh bourbon barrels and refill casks. Twenty per cent goes into fresh Oloroso sherry butts.
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