The Borders Distillery

Itinerary

08:15 – 10:15: Bus (Borders X95: Carlisle): Edinburgh Bus Station – Hawick (Teviotdale Leisure Centre)
10:15 – 10:25: Walk: Teviotdale Leisure Centre – Borders Distillery
11:00 – 12:00: Tour: Standard Tour
12:10 – 13:25 Pints at Waverley and The Bourtree
13:37 – 15:50: Bus (Borders X95: Edinburgh): Mart Street Bus Stance – Edinburgh

I headed down to Hawick in the Borders today, which was a long but fairly straightforward trip from Edinburgh. My destination was the Borders Distillery, the first new distillery to open in the region in over a century, having only launched in 2017. To get there, I caught the Borders Bus to Carlisle from Edinburgh Bus Station. The journey took just over two hours and, while not the quickest, it was comfortable enough. The bus had USB charging points and even a couple of tables at the back, although no on-board toilet, so best to limit the drink intake during the trip! The only quirk was the ticketing system: although you can pay cash or contactless on board, the best deal is through the Borders Buses app, where a 24-hour unlimited travel ticket costs just over £10. So definitely worth downloading if you’re planning a day of exploring.

Directions

I passed the time with a few psychology podcasts, and before long, we pulled into Hawick Leisure Centre, about a 10-minute walk from the distillery. From the bus stop, I headed towards the roundabout, and crossed the road just past the roundabout before turning right, then crossed again at the bridge and past the pedestrianised area. From there it was a straight walk down Commercial Street, towards Sainsbury’s and the distillery sits just beyond the supermarket on the right-hand side.

The Distillery

The limited facilities at the distillery include a shop on site, which is where you check in and begin the tour and where you can buy a bottle of whisky or even pick up a good whisky book. The tour is not taken by a dedicated guide but rather is one of the production staff, which means you get a great deal of technical detail while on the tour.

The tour started upstairs with the mash tun and washbacks, which are housed in a long room with a skylight roof which offers an abundance of natural light. The near end of the room has a wooden model, which shows the layout of the distillery and all of the equipment, which the guide explained. As the distillery was in production when I visited, I got to see inside a couple of the washbacks, which were at different stages of the fermentation process to see the water becoming whisky, and I have to say the CO2 was not as strong as in some other washbacks (thank goodness).

I then headed to the next room, where they have two wash stills and two spirit stills, each of which are named after one of the four founders of the distillery. The multiple stills allow them to produce around an impressive 1.5 million litres of spirit per year, although it is operating below capacity right now due to external issues (e.g. US tariffs). The guide did take me through the process, and it was a lot more detailed than your standard tour. For instance, I got a lot more information on the process of taking cuts and how the hydrometers work, which was actually very interesting!

Whisky is not the only spirit being produced at the Borders, as they needed to generate revenue while waiting for whisky to mature, they also produce alternative spirits in Gin and Vodka, which are processed in a separate still opposite the main whisky stills. The still does look quite different from the wash and spirit stills; it is very narrow and tall, and a little plain looking by comparison. The process for making the vodka and gin is fairly similar to whisky, for vodka, the spirit passes through several filters on the way to a basket at the top of the still, and then it passes through charcoal to make the spirit smoother as it filters the compounds out of the alcohol to make it smoother. For gin, the spirit passes through some botanicals, of which the main ingredient is juniper berries and they also include citrus, liquorice, cinnamon, and coriander seeds.

The last stop on the tour was the tasting, which took place in a tasting bar above the shop, and despite being open for over eight years, the distillery doesn’t yet have a single malt on the shelves. Instead, the tasting lineup offers a mix of alternatives: two blends created off-site to their own recipe, the new make spirit, three in-house blends, plus their gin and vodka. I was able to pick any two options, with generous 25ml pours.

I started with one of their own blends, aptly named “Long and Short.” It’s made from two fermentations, one long (150 hours) and one short (55 hours), hence the name. On the palate, it was pleasantly fruity with notes of apple and a sweet, clean finish, and I quite enjoyed it (enough that I picked up a bottle in the shop). For my second dram, I chose their recently released “As Right as Rain,” finished in a red wine cask. The deep colour initially had me thinking it was sherry-matured, but the wine influence came through clearly. It was spicier, with a rich sweetness, though for me the red wine finish felt a little overpowering, making it too sweet. I definitely preferred my first choice.

When I asked about the age of the blends, I was told they’re thought to be around three years old. That makes me curious to see how their single malt will turn out once it’s finally released. Naturally, I also asked when a single malt would be available, given that they’ve been distilling for nearly a decade. The answer: they’re holding off for a couple more years before launching their inaugural release. It’s a bold move considering similar newer distilleries like Kingsbarns and Annandale have already put whiskies on the market after three years, building their brand presence early. Whether this strategy pays off remains to be seen, but I’ll be watching with interest to see how their first single malt is received when it finally arrives.

With some time to spare after my tour, I decided to check out a couple of local pubs before catching my bus back to Edinburgh. The town centre is only a short walk from the distillery, just cross the road, take the footbridge through the park, and you’re there in a couple of minutes. I had asked the staff in the Borders shop for recommendations, and the girl at the shop desk suggested the Waverley Bar, a local favourite.

It was already busy when I arrived, and I couldn’t help but notice I was the youngest person in the room by probably a decade. Most of the regulars seemed happily settled with their newspapers, the horse racing on TV, and pints in hand. It’s very much a no-frills spot, but the pint was decent, the service friendly, and the atmosphere genuinely local.

From there, I wandered up the high street to the town’s Wetherspoons, the Boretree. I’d been there once about six years ago and remembered grabbing a pint of BrewDog IPA for £3, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was still the same price. A Tennent’s was going for just £2.49, and a dram of Glenlivet for £2, making it by far the cheapest place in the town (maybe any town). The bar itself is large, lively, and has the typical Wetherspoons look and feel, but if you’re after value, it’s hard to beat.

I got back on the bus at Mart Street Bus Stance, which was a short walk away from the bar and seemed to be a kind of main bus terminus in Hawick, although slightly confusingly, the bus going to Carlisle and Edinburgh stopped on the same side of the road! It was another 2 hours back to the city, but overall I can say it was quite an enjoyable trip down to Hawick. It is a shame there is no single malt to sample, but the tour is quite good, and it is a nice site to visit, so no doubt I will be back in a couple of years!