CRAIG Hoy, a Conservative MSP for South Scotland and councillor for Haddington and Lammermuir, has described a new state-of-the-art whisky visitor experience at Glenkinchie Distillery near Pencaitland as “superb" for the local area.
Mr Hoy visited the facility with the Scotch Whisky Association’s head of engagement, Susanne Cameron-Nielson.
The Glenkinchie visitor experience was opened in October 2020 as part a £185 million investment by owner Diageo in four distilleries throughout Scotland.
The Distillery is the lowland home of Johnnie Walker’s high-quality and sustainably produced whisky.
Glenkinchie’s visitor centre features a modern café, bar and gift shop, selling traditional Scottish produce as well as a fine selection of Johnnie Walker whisky and gin.
The venue is East Lothian’s highest rated visitor attraction on travel review site TripAdvisor, with visitors of the distillery giving it an average rating of 5 out of 5.
The distillery and visitor centre employs around 35 people locally.
Mr Hoy, who is the Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Beer and Pubs, said: “It was fantastic to visit Glenkinchie distillery in Pencaitland with Susanne Cameron-Nielson from the Scotch Whisky Association.
“Whisky contributes billions of pounds to the Scottish economy, and it plays a crucial role in Scottish tourism and hospitality.
“I was pleased to learn that the distillery at Glenkinchie and wider whisky distilling industry is well ahead of the curve when it comes the transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with the industry hoping to reach this target by 2040.
“At Glenkinchie, there is also a focus on reusing water and materials to avoid waste, and on making sure local wildlife habitats are undisturbed by activity from the side.
“Our tour guide Caroline was very knowledgeable and provided us with an insightful tour of the whisky distilling process at Glenkinchie.
“The facilities at the visitor centre are superb, and it’s a great place to visit even just for a scone or a cup of tea.
“I would strongly recommend it to any East Lothian resident or visitor of the county.”
Susanne Cameron Nielson, the Scotch Whisky Association’s head of engagement said: “We were delighted to work with the team at Glenkinchie to welcome Mr Hoy. The industry is rightly ambitious in its efforts to reach net zero in its operations by 2040 and examples like those at Glenkinchie demonstrate how it is working hard to ensure it reduces, reuses and recycles throughout the distilling process. We look forward to continue working with Mr Hoy, to profile and support the Scotch Whisky industry and distillers like Mr Borthwick and his team at Glenkinchie Distillery. We also look forward to distillery visitor centres across Scotland seeing increasing numbers of visitors after two challenging years for tourism and hospitality.”
