WOMEN in the world of whisky are as rare as a 50-year-old single malt.
But one female founder is making a toast to the lassies this Burns Night as she prepares to open a distillery staffed by an all-female workforce in the stunning Angus Glens.
Kim Cameron is set to open The Bothy Distillery in Angus – a distillery ran by all-female staff[/caption]
She has launched two whisky products ahead of laying down her first malt[/caption]
Robert Burns worked as a tax collector and wrote about the Scotch drink[/caption]
Award-winning foodie Kim Cameron, who runs The Gin Bothy, gained international acclaim and recognition last year after her Original Gin was included in the 2024 Academy Awards Goodie Bags.
Now one year on from her Oscars debut, the 48-year-old is set to take on her biggest challenge yet as she prepares to expand her operations from gin to whisky after unveiling plans for one of Scotland’s most remote distilleries.
The Bothy Distillery, due to begin operations in Spring, will be set in heart of Glen Prosen, embedded within the beauty of the region’s historic whisky smuggling trails.
Romanticized by the nation’s Bard, the most notable tax collector of the 18th century, Kim is set to regenerate tourism and bring visitors down historic tracks where some of the finest “illicit” whisky was produced and traded.
Traditionally a male-dominated industry, Kim currently employs 22 women in her team and plans to add another six positions once they start distilling later this year.
She told the Scottish Sun Online: “Most of my team are wives or partners of people that work within rural space, so they’ve been able to fit within the seasonality of our business, and I’m proud that we are a full team of women.
“I guess Robert Burns might approve of the culture and the tradition, and the storytelling and songs he might not have approved of the whisky.”
It is only the second female-founded whisky distillery in almost 200 years, following the footsteps of Toulvaddie Distillery, outside Inverness, which was launched by Heather Nelson back in 2016.
The site of the Bothy distillery is a former sheep farm, adjacent to the King’s estate, and is surrounded by the historic drovers’ path to Braemar and Munro twins Driesh and Mayar.
The remote site sat empty for nearly two years as the government guardians of the land Forest and Land Scotland sought ways to regenerate the glen.
Now thanks to Kim, 300 casks are expected to be produced annually at the site.
And it is set to become a unique visitor destination with plans including an immersive whisky retreat, guided walking and foraging events.
Kim continued: ” With just one road in and one road out this remote location is one of a kind.
“Its seclusion and natural beauty provide the perfect backdrop for crafting spirits that truly capture the essence of Scotland, with our focal point on Munros, Malt and Mindfulness.
“So all the things that we take for granted in the glens, the hiking and the Munro climbing, the mountain biking, the river swimming, we’ll be able to offer all of that within this area.
“We’ll be laying down our own 12-year single malt, so they can experience everything that the glen has to offer.”
Award-winning foodie Kim Cameron has taken on her next big challenge[/caption]
Kim kicked off her rural business making award-winning jam at her Angus home back in 2010.
It wasn’t until her mum suggested a use for the leftover raspberry juice that she began making flavoured gin “by accident.”
The Scots entrepreneur’s gin business erupted and now has a team of 19 women operating from her converted Bothy in Glamis.
After 18 months of hunting for the perfect spot, just one glen over from where Kim had been brought up.
Now as she prepares to lay her first cask of single malt, a process that can take eight to ten years to turn barley into the “water of life”, Kim says she has already been inundated by punters looking to invest in a drop of whisky history.
Kim added: “We’ve had ten years with gin, we’ve got rum, we’ve got jam and butter, but whisky was always going to be something that I would have loved to have done.
“We’ve already had loads of people asking whether they can buy the first casks from the glen, and I’m excited about bringing people on the whisky journey with us.
The site of the distillery is in the historical Glen Prosen – famous for whisky smuggling[/caption]
Kim has been working with gin, jam and rum for over a decade[/caption]
“They’re not only buying the spirit, but they’re buying regeneration of the glen.
“It is important that we retain the tradition of whisky making in the region, otherwise we’re going to lose something really special.
“I hope to showcase stories of old, but the spirit of new.”
And for those who can’t wait to sample whisky from the cask, The Gin Bothy has two products launched ahead of the distillery opening this sprint.
The Gunshot whisky range — an eight-year-old blend and a scotch liqueur — is the first in a proposed set of releases by the firm.
Both are sold directly from the Bothy in Glamis, the Bothy Larder in Forfar, online, and in select Scottish Stockists.
Only two women have founded a distillery in 200 years[/caption]
