Struie Distillery
Dornoch Distillery – Dornoch South
Struie Distillery – Dornoch South Update (May 2025)
We are thrilled to announce that our new distillery at Dornoch South has been officially named Struie Distillery, inspired by the nearby Struie Hill that overlooks the Dornoch Firth.
Construction Progress
Following the completion of archaeological assessments and the securing of key permits, we are set to commence construction in the coming months. The site will feature a state-of-the-art distillery, two maturation warehouses, and a visitor centre housed within the restored historic gasworks building. We aim to begin production by late 2026.
Sustainability and Innovation
Struie Distillery is being designed to be one of the most energy-efficient whisky distilleries in the world. Utilising patent-pending technology, including a solar-powered high-temperature heat pump system, we are targeting an energy efficiency rating of just 3 kWh per litre of alcohol produced; significantly lower than the industry average of 7.5–8 kWh/LPA. Our goal is to operate primarily off-grid, with renewable energy at the core of our design.
Production Capacity and Philosophy
The new site will allow us to produce up to 250,000 litres of alcohol annually off-grid, with the flexibility to scale up to 400,000 litres using supplementary renewable energy. Inspired by distilleries like Yamazaki, we will produce a wide range of spirit styles, with an emphasis on quality and diversity. Most production will be unpeated, but we will also run dedicated peated campaigns each year.
Crowdfunding and Ongoing Investment
Our recent equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube successfully raised over £2.2 million, exceeding our target of £1.85 million and forming part of a wider £8 million investment plan. We are continuing active conversations with private investors to support the next phases of the project.
If you are a private investor and would like to express interest or request more information, please contact:
Phil Thompson
📧 dornoch@dornochdistillery.com
Integration with Existing Operations
Struie Distillery will complement our operations at Dornoch Distillery and Dornoch Castle Hotel, expanding our production capabilities and enabling greater bottling and logistics capacity, all while maintaining our focus on sustainability and quality-driven whisky making.
For general inquiries, please contact us at info@dornochdistillery.com
Dornoch South update 31/10/2024
Dornoch South has a name! We’ll put out an announcement soon.
We’ve made further progress, working through the building warrant stage and preparing for tender.
We sunk a borehole and have plenty of water, electrical grid connection is organised.
Archaeological trenching will finish this week, thankfully nothing interesting has been found so far.
Patent application is in for equipment for and systems that optimises energy efficiency for pot still distilleries working with heat upgrading systems.
Company restructuring completed with Dornoch Castle Hotel coming into the group.
Current timeline should have us beginning construction proper in March/April 2025.
05/02/2024 – Update
We are currently progressing with the building warrant work and have enlisted firms for various aspects, including civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, renewable energy design, archaeological surveys, borehole drilling, and more.
According to our current schedule, construction is anticipated to commence in late 2024 or early 2025, with production capability expected by late 2025 or early 2026.
Up to this point, we have been self-funding the project. However, the substantial financial requirements of a project of this magnitude exceed our available funds. We express our gratitude to everyone who participated in our archive sale, as the proceeds provided a significant boost, enabling us to maintain the project’s momentum without any slowdown.
An equity seed round is scheduled for April/May, and we have already identified a pool of potential investors, many of whom have a personal connection and a history of business dealings with us.
As we continue to mitigate risks associated with the project, we are exploring the possibility of an additional equity raise through a crowdfunding platform, catering to a diverse range of budgets.
To address common inquiries:
- Dornoch Distillery will remain operational, undergoing a few upgrades and a modest expansion in the future.
- Dornoch Castle Hotel is no longer on the market. We are set to take over later this year, with plans for renovations and improvements during the winter. Colin and Ros Thompson will remain as shareholders in our businesses.
We extend our sincere thanks to all who have supported us thus far.
12/09/2023
Planning permission granted.
On land on Dornoch South, we are building our 2nd distillery in order to take the lessons learned from almost 7 years of distilling at Dornoch Distillery and apply them on a larger scale. Dornoch Distillery exists to make a whisky based on old-style production, focusing on brewing yeast strain and heritage barley varieties combined with long fermentations and slow distillation.
The new distillery will have an off-grid capacity of over 200,000 LPA with equipment capable of up to 400,000 LPA with external energy supplements and/or increased renewable energy generation.
The distillery will achieve best-in-class energy efficiency to balance below-average yield figures because of our production philosophy and points of differentiation.
The site includes the conversion of Dornoch’s old Gas Works building to a shop and visitor centre, 2 new warehouses and facilities for us to increase our bottling and logistics capacity.
Dornoch Distillery will continue to operate. Some modest upgrades and a small expansion are planned.
We have made our plans for Dornoch South available below & via the following links.
- Pre-planning community consultation document
- Site masterplan
- 3D renders of the gasworks building 1
- 3D renders of the gasworks building 2
- 3D renders of the gasworks building 3
- 3D renders of the distillery building 1
- 3D renders of the distillery building 2
If you have any questions please email info@dornochdistillery.com or alternatively please visit us at our Station Square, Dornoch, shop if you would like to discuss the plans.
