Growers & Distillers

From Seed to Spirit

At The Borders Distillery we only use locally-grown Scottish Borders barley, all harvested from 12 farms lying within 35 miles of Hawick. This helps to keep the delivery of our barley as eco-friendly as possible, whilst also supporting the local economy.

Once at the distillery, the barley begins the journey of its transformation into a spirit – the whole process of which happens in the building. Our distillery was designed to create an environment that would allow for sustainable production. With thanks to our Borders Growers and Distillers programme, we are able to keep a watchful eye on the entire process, from seed to spirit.

Our Farming Community

Our Growers & Distillers programme is a long-term partnership between The Borders Distillery, Simpsons Malt LTD and 12 local farming businesses in the Scottish Borders. 

Essentially, the Growers & Distillers programme guarantees us access to high quality and responsibly produced crops, helping The Borders Distillery to be an eco-conscious distillery from the very beginning. 

You can see on our Growers and Distillers map exactly where our barley comes from!

Greyscale sketch map of the Scottish Borders region, with arrows to north and south indicating rough location of Edinburgh and Newcastle respectively.

Our Journey to zero waste

As we strive to become a Zero Waste distillery, we work the organic by-product from distillation going to local farms where it is used to grow plants (including some delicious tomatoes!).

The organic by-product from those farms goes back in turn to the barley fields – making for a circular economy within Borders farming, with the distillery at its centre.

Today’s Rain

Tomorrow’s Whisky

Making whisky involves using a lot of water. Having sustainable supplies of water as both an ingredient and for production were key considerations in choosing a location for the distillery.

For the water which goes into the spirit, we draw from an underground lake deep beneath the site. The lake’s water takes between 50 and 70 years to filter down from the hills through the rock. Even if it never rained again (unlikely in the Borders!) the lake contains enough pure water to last the distillery for thousands of years. And right outside our front door, the River Teviot offers a continuous source of fast-flowing water – perfect for cooling the spirit as it comes from the stills.

The Proof is in the Building

Our award-winning distillery had an exciting life before it became ours. Built in the 19th Century, this iconic landmark of Hawick was a former electrical board, which then transformed into a sweetie factory (the home of Hawick Balls – if you know, you know), and finally in the 1930s, an engineering firm.

It was rediscovered by our founders in 2014, and finding a new purpose for such an iconic building was vital for its survival. Old buildings such as TBD need to be cared for and used in order to preserve them – and we feel privileged to look after this building so it may survive for the next generation.

A regenerated Distillery

A lot of love was needed to renovate the old Edwardian electrical works into a manual distillery. During the renovation, it was key that the building had character and function, while being eco-friendly. From wild-garden roofs to self-ventilating Victorian windows, the distillery building has been preserved and reinvented to house conscientious production methods.

This was officially recognised when The Borders Distillery won both the RIAS Conservation and Climate Change Award 2019 and the EAA Architectural Regeneration / Conservation Award in 2019.

In part, this was due to the emphasis we placed on reuse and preservation during the renovation of the former building. Keeping the Victorian glass ceilings lets our distillers work in natural light, and the salvaging of old teak school desks were used to create furniture and windowsills.

Our Bottles

The recent release of The Borders Distillery’s ‘Kerr’s Navy Strength Gin’ was the first time the distillery experimented with 100% paperless packaging. The result? Beautiful bottles that are easy to recycle.

Additionally, our bottles can live more than one life. A perfect water decanter or flower vase once empty, our high standards for premium bottles mean that they are long lasting and resilient.

Race To Zero

Our Commitment

The Borders Distillery has joined the Scotch Whisky Association’s RACE TO ZERO programme, which commits us to a goal of achieving net zero as soon as possible.

The Scotch Whisky industry is leading the way on sustainability. With a commitment to reach Net 0 by 2040, the Scotch Whisky Association has become Scotland’s first trade association, and the UK’s first food and drink trade association to become a Race to Zero Partner.