This blog has been sitting pretty quiet for a couple of years and so far I have managed to keep up a steady and regular stream of content.

What caused this and how have I managed to keep it up?

Genuinely I am quite surprised I have managed to keep things going but the reason behind it was the unexpected and unplanned visit to this distillery Ad Gefrin in the village of Wooler just a skip over the border from Scotland in Northumberland. Dropping in here has given me that spark to pick up the virtual pen and start posting again.

So picture the scene we have packed the kids up into the car after school and a moderately stressful afternoon working from home to hot foot it down the road and over the border. We are getting married soon so this is a cheapy holiday to just get away. If I’m honest I hadn’t been thinking about it much and the future Mrs Malted had done all the legwork on finding us a caravan but contribution was just driving us there. So a good bunch of hours have passed and the sat nav is showing 2 miles to our destination and no-one has fallen out with anyone so things are looking up.

If you are aren’t familiar with the area the general feel of this fantastic part of the country is pretty rural and steeped in social history. A good image to have would be like this below:

So imagine my surprise when we turn the corner as we approach the end of the village of Wooler to have an agriculture supermarket on my left and to my right a massive recently painted white modern building.

The conversation in the car basically went as follows:

Mrs M: What the Fuck is that.

Mr M: What the fuck is what… *spots it*… aye what is that

Both: *Spots the cooper stills in the window*

Mrs M: *sigh* that’s a distillery isn’t it

Mr M: Let’s hope so

I’ll not publish the next comment…

So yes, Ad Gefrin distillery opened this year in March of 2023. Owned by the Fergusan family who also own the national haulage company Fergusans Transport. The site was the Redpath yard and was in the family of Eileen Fergusan nee Redpath for generations. It has been important for the couple to develop the site for a number of years and not just for anything either. It has been important to Eileen especially that whatever was done on the site added to the community of Wooler where her family have history and her own married life started out. With that in mind cookie cutter new housing was out, petrol stations were out and while a supermarket was an option and a tourist information site was an option nothing came of them.

So from those initial requirements how did we end up with a whisky distillery and Anglo-Saxon museum combo? Well, for that I would get yourself down for the tour because this enterprise is employing 60 people and providing a tourist attraction, meeting place, educational asset and a restaurant to the benefit of local people and tourists alike. So even if whisky tours aren’t your jam there is going to be something for you to make a visit worthwhile.

When visiting I was really impressed with the quality of the visitor centre both in how it looks and feels but also the knowledgeable, well trained and enthusiastic staff across all the teams at the distillery. This feels a slick well resourced and thought out attraction similar to a Lakes Distillery or Clydeside Distillery. All these distilleries are run by experienced leadership teams who know what it takes to make a modern attraction a success.

In terms of the operational details on the whisky production it is a very similar model to most of the new breed of small volume distilleries coupled to using local farmed barley with draff sent out to the farmer across the road in the village. Northumberland is also where Simpson’s Malt is located so even the malting process is local if not “traditional”.

Obviously, no whisky is available yet but they are doing a blend which was nice and features Scottish and Irish spirit to tie back into the Anglo-Saxon story and ultimately the design cues of the fabric of the building. Alongside the whisky production though is a single still to produce gin and a bought was duly bought on my way out. The gin is really nice and reminded me a lot of the Lussa gin over on Jura with strong citric overtones.

I really want to stress that getting out and stopping for a few hours at Ad Gefrin is worth it and the kind of business that is worthy of your support. Be it to do a tour, see some of the history, have a meal or look around the shop which sell more than just a glencairn glass and alcohol make sure Wooler is on your itinerary the next time your visit Northumberland.