Ogilvy Vodka – Scotland’s first potato vodka distillery – is preparing to open the doors to its new £150K visitor centre on the outskirts of Dundee.
Expected to welcome over 3,000 visitors in its first year, Ogilvy Vodka promises an unforgettable ‘field to bottle’ experience that will take in the sights and sounds of both a working potato farm and working vodka distillery.
Tours will start on vintage tractor and trailer, which will showcase a behind-the-scenes look at potato farming.
Visitors will then take an immersive, step-by-step walk-through of the distilling process and a guided tasting of the distillery’s mulit-award-winning single estate potato vodka in the attraction’s boutique tasting room.
Housed in a converted stone barn, the visitor centre is a bright, modern and welcoming space, featuring nods to the distillery’s zero waste ethos including ‘tattie box’ wall cladding and recycled Ogilvy Vodka bottles as eye-catching light fittings.
Independently owned and run by husband-and-wife team, Graeme and Caroline Jarron, Ogilvy Vodka has been distilling at the couple’s Angus farm since 2014.
Alistair Tweedie is Ogilvy’s Distiller; a qualified bio-medical engineer who transferred skills gained working in the oil and gas industry into the art of vodka distilling.
Born out of a desire to use ‘wonky potatoes’, Ogilvy Vodka now processes thousands of kilos of misshaped spuds that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Graeme Jarron hopes the visitor experience will become a must-visit for spirits lovers:
“Since Ogilvy Vodka was launched, we’ve dreamt of expanding our offering to take visitors behind-the-scenes and follow the journey of the humble spud from field to bottle.
“As well as being the first vodka visitor attraction of our kind in Scotland, we’re also excited to offer spirits lovers something a little bit different – we’re not your conventional distillery experience, that’s for sure!
“With the launch of the V&A in Dundee and around 100,000 people visiting our neighbour, Glamis Castle, each year, we can’t wait to open our doors and join a growing number of extraordinary attractions that make Angus such a brilliant place to visit.”
Alison Smith, Head of Angus Council’s business team said:
“We are delighted to have been able to support Ogilvy Vodka to develop their business with the creation of their new distillery centre. This new investment allows their business to continue to grow and is a welcome addition to our successful tourism sector, which brought in £231million in economic impact to Angus in 2017.
“This is a fantastic example of a traditional agricultural business in Angus, diversifying their offer into the food and drink sector, with a quality product with authentic provenance. I am looking forward to seeing how the business continues to develop and contribute positively to the local economy.”
Ogilvy Vodka is distributed to independent bottle shops, farm shops and delis throughout the UK and is priced at £36 RRP for the 70cl bottle.