Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Chance application led to dream job at new ‘one-of-a-kind’ Moray distillery

Euan Christie, 29, never expected to win his dream dram job and requested they 'keep his CV on file'.

Euan Christie is the first head distiller at the new distillery. Image: Peter Jolly
Euan Christie is the first head distiller at the new distillery. Image: Peter Jolly

A new distillery in Moray has appointed a head distiller ahead of its inaugural distillation in autumn.

The Cabrach Distillery has revealed Euan Christie, 29, will take the reins at Inverharroch Farm.

He will now start his new role as the business prepares for its maiden distillation, with previous experience managing Dornoch Distillery.

The community-led project will bring real whisky back to the area for the first time in more than 170 years.

Whisky boss saw project as ‘one-of-a-kind’

Mr Christie is full of determination to do things right as well as doing the local community “justice”.

This is his first senior role within the industry, after impressing a panel including The Cabrach Trust chief executive Jonathan Christie.

The new head distiller said: “We’ve got the potential to make some very special, high-quality liquid here.

“But, as importantly, we want this distillery and its whisky to be for the community.”

Last month, £140,000 funding was secured by the distillery from Social Investment Scotland (SIS) as part of its plans.

How the new distillery will look on completion.
How the new distillery will look on completion. Image: Big Partnership

Mr Christie earned a degree at Heriot-Watt University where he gained the “nous and expertise to take his skills to the next level”.

Now, he will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the plant, maintenance and also quality control.

Mr Christie added: “No great chef ever worked at only one restaurant and, when this job came up, the nature of the project struck me as one-of-a-kind.

“When I first reached out, I hadn’t suspected I would get this job and said ‘keep my CV on file’.

“I’m hoping I won’t have to swap my combat trousers and steal toe-caps for chinos and shoes.”

Construction of The Cabrach Distillery and Heritage Centre by The Cabrach Trust is close to completion and the first spirit will run from the stills this autumn.

Making sure Cabrach Distillery is production ready is key for new head distiller

Mr Christie has turned his focus to being production ready by October.

The project will be the flagship asset of The Cabrach Trust and will also add a dedicated heritage centre.

Mr Christie said: “The distillery is part of a wider community regeneration project and, over the next six months, the distillery team will set the tone with local people.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to define the style and set the course for going forward.

“The Cabrach is rightly proud of its long history of whisky-making and I want our work to be viewed as an extension of that – the next step in The Cabrach’s whisky journey.

Inverharroch Farm is where Cabrach Distillery will be located. Image: Tailormade

“You read in old books about the quality of the whisky here and I want to recreate that aura.”

The Cabrach Trust chief executive, Jonathan Christie, is full of excitement about bringing the “prodigious talent” on board.

He said: “He has fitted right into the team here and has fully tuned into the history and heritage of the Cabrach.

“We’re keenly anticipating what is to come from Euan and the team here as we aim to showcase the craft and alchemy of making Scotland’s national drink while telling the story of this historic region.”

Conversation