Wester Spirits Co
Meadow Road, Partick
Glasgow
History - When Zander Macgregor and Allan Nairn first met in Glasgow at University they found they had the perfect mix to start their own company and in particular a company that could create a Glasgow Rum. With backgrounds in business, engineering and a passion for Rum they decided to go out on their own. They company they created over a year ago was Wester Spirits Company with a vision of opening Glasgow’s first rum distillery in over 300 years. First though they would collabo-rate with Perthshire distillery Strathearn to perfect their recipe and get the brand to market while they laid their plans to open their own distillery in Glasgow’s Partick district. In November last year their dream became a reality with their distillery opening in a industrial unit on Meadow Road in Patrick. Not only has this innovative new distillery, utilising existing new production techniques it has also let them grow from producing just 250 bottles per month to 6000 to meet demand, it has also given them the space to host pop-up restaurants and secret gigs, bringing more people to this part of the city.
The Spirit – There first brand to launch was their Spiced Rum, which has proven to be extremely popular to people looking for alternatives to the more main stream brands. The infuse their rum with fresh ginger, fresh lime peel, orange peel, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla, cloves, a few other spices to create a smooth spiced rum which can be drunk neat, with some fiery ginger beer or in cocktails such as their signature one called Wester which consists of Wester Spiced Rum, Pineapple Oleo, Citric Oleo, Pimento Dram and a splash of Falernum all shaken and pure over ice. It was brave a this pair to not just make a go or even whisky as making rum isn't the easiest thing to get right but they have put real effort into doing things properly at Wester Spirits Co. Keep your eye out for more rummy goodness coming soon from these guys and make sure and get yourself down to the distillery.
Why Visit? – From the start of this year the distillery offers tours on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00pm, 1:30pm and 3:00pm priced at £15. Now you may think this is more expensive than say a basic whisky distillery tour but what you get here is way more hands on and informative than most tours. At their Meadow Road Distillery where you will learn how they produce their spiced rum, get an insight into rum’s fascinating history and at the end enjoy a complimentary sample and cocktail masterclass.
Interesting fact – Scotland loves rum. And it has done for centuries, we were even making it from 1650 to 1750 during the sugar boom of which Glasgow was at the centre. Some of the sugar refin-eries would have also made rum, one of which was Wester sugar house in the Candleriggs area of Glasgow and where Wester got its name for the brand.
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