Lost Distillery Gerston Archivist Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey

The story of Gerston whisky is a tale of two distilleries, known as Gerston One and Gerston Two. Gerston One was a family-owned farmhouse scale distillery, with a typically small output, making high quality spirit that was in demand both at home and further afield. It was enjoyed by the great and good of London society and had customers as far apart as Brazil and India. It existed for over eighty years, and remained in the Swanson family for nearly all that time.

Gerston Two was an industrial scale distillery with a capacity of 80,000 gallons of spirit per year. The owners hoped to emulate the success of the whisky from Gerston One by building a new distillery, which had a capacity almost ten times the size of Gerston One. Production at Gerston Two lasted for little over two decades – they were unable to replicate the success and, importantly, quality of spirit previously associated with the Gerston name.

The water source for Gerston One was an unnamed stream next to Gerston farm. The water ran from a nearby well before emptying into the Calder Burn. This would add a salty edge to the spirit, neatly accompanying the strong peat reek of Gerston One whisky. Gerston Two most likely used the nearby Calder Burn, which is a tributary of the Thurso River. A separate channel was built outside the distillery, which allowed water to flow through the complex for cooling and mashing.

92 Proof / 46% ABV