First day in new whisky attraction home a success for West Midlands Distillery

The opening day of the new West Midlands Distillery centre on the Waterfront in Brierley Hill on Friday saw dozens of people come through the doors to do tours and tasting experiences.

This included being able to have a behind-the-scenes experience into the world of whisky-making, with the distillery currently in the final stages of producing the first-ever single malt whisky to be produced in the West Midlands. 

Owner and founder Jordan Lunn said the first day had been a successful one and said the whole experience was about making it as real and authentic as possible.

He said: "The production of the whisky has moved up here from Rowley Regis and we've finally opened the doors for people to do tours and tastings experiences, which is something we've always wanted to do.

"It means we can show people behind the scenes and we've kept it quite raw and in keeping with the Black Country way, not a glitzy Malt Disney thing, but more about the inner workings.

"It's members of our production team who are doing the tours as well, so you're not hearing it from a tour guide, but from the people who actually make it, which makes such a difference."

Mr Lunn said the first few weeks were almost completely booked out for tours and experiences, which he said was fantastic, and was now working ahead for two big projects later in the year.

The first will see a one-of-a-kind distilling school where guests can craft and age their own whisky, something rarely seen in the industry and a first for the region, and which is set to open in the middle of the year.

The next step will see the first batch of single malt whisky, limited to just 900 bottles, released on July 11, marking a major milestone for both the distillery and the region. 

The new distillery and the upcoming whisky are all things which Mr Lunn said were like a new dawn for West Midlands Distillery.

He said: "We've moved into this new home and while we've still got the site in Rowley Regis, where gin, vodka and rum production will stay, but the whisky has always been the goal and the ambition.

"We wanted to have that dedicated site and focus and have something for the region as it's not something you see in this region.

"That's why we wanted to do it as we're proud Black Country folk and we want to be able to celebrate that at this site."