See, The Borders Distillery have committed themselves to bottling the true spirit of the Scottish Borders. What that means is, their whisky is made from barley grown on 12 local farms – barley which is helped to grow by the organic by-product of their distilling process. It also means that all their water is drawn from an underground lake beneath the distillery; pure water, which takes around 50 years to filter down from the Scottish hills that surround them.

Their Scotch whisky is made using only three natural ingredients (malted barley, water and yeast) and marks the return to the Borders of an industry that has been absent for more than 180 years. You can take a distillery tour to see how the magic happens and can enjoy a complimentary whisky tasting experience when you visit. But it’s not all about whisky at The Borders Distillery.

They also craft delectable gin and vodka from their locally sourced barley, and have got some pretty neat blends, too. And if you’re looking to go all out for Christmas this year, you can even become the owner of your very own private whisky cask, with a unique opportunity to purchase one of a limited number of casks with a filling date of your choosing.

We caught up with Kirsten Blackburn, Head of Marketing, to find out how The Borders Distillery can get you in the Christmas spirit this year.

What would you say your local area lends to the creation of your spirits? 

Technically, it takes three key ingredients to make whisky: water, barley and yeast. But the magic comes with a secret fourth ingredient: people. These elements all play a key role in making The Borders Distillery spirit sing.

For the water which goes into the spirit, we draw from an underground lake deep beneath the site and, right outside our front door, the River Teviot offers a sustainable source of fast-flowing water – perfect for cooling the spirit as it comes from the stills.

We only use locally grown Scottish Borders barley, all harvested from 12 local farms lying within 35 miles of Hawick. This helps to keep the delivery of our barley as eco-friendly as possible, whilst also supporting the local economy. It was also important to our founders to build a business that would create jobs, develop a skilled workforce and offer career opportunities to local people.

What would you say is the best serve with your vodka and gin?

Kerr’s has started to become known as a bit of a “Marmite gin”, so getting the serve right makes all the difference. With Kerr’s Gin you want a highball glass, thick chunks of ice, a generous segment of orange or grapefruit, topped up with sparkling Mediterranean tonic. The citrus in the fruit and tonic emphasises the spice of the spirit, whilst giving you a really refreshing G&T. A simple but effective serve if ever there was one.

Puffing Billy was designed to be a vodka that you can enjoy neat or with a splash of tonic – all we ask is that you keep it far, far away from Coke! But, if you want to add some bells and whistles to your Puffing Billy serve, it has to be in an Espresso Martini. The smoothness of the spirit lends itself so well to the cream of the coffee.

And what’s next for the distillery?

Everything we do now is gearing up for the launch of our Single Malt. We can’t give any dates away yet, but over the next few years we’ll be giving you tastes of experimental liquid that each show a different side to Borders life. Our doors will continue to be open for shopping and tours, but all I can say for now is: watch this space…