Maker Spotlight: Witchmark Distillery

Witchmark Distillery, found on the beautiful Fonthill Estate, is getting ready to open their doors. They’re determined to put English – and by that token, Wiltshire – whisky on the map as a unique and exciting alternative to Scotch and Irish whisky.

We caught up with Jon Carson, Commercial Director at Witchmark, to tell us all about it.

So, when did Witchmark get started?

My friend Alistair and I had our own experiential marketing agency for the best part of 10 years, but when the pandemic hit, we found ourselves in a difficult place – most of our work happened in shopping malls, music festivals, high streets … all the places that people weren’t going. So we put our heads together and thought what can we do next? The answer was English whisky. We got a fantastic advisory board behind us, including James Espey who worked on the launch of Johnny Walker, and this pipe dream we had suddenly became a reality. 

However, it’s taken a good four years from the initial concept to where we are now. The barrier to entry for whisky is incredibly high and it’s very time consuming – we still need another three years for the whisky itself to mature. There’s pros and cons to something taking this long, we’ve learned a lot, but we’re really looking forward to being able to give the final product a taste!

What have you been doing in the meantime while you wait for the whisky to mature?

Eddie who is one of our co-founders is a true expert when it comes to brewing and had run his own microbrewery for years. Whisky and beer have a similar process to start with, so that knowledge is invaluable. 

So we also have the Stone Daisy brewery on the premises, which uses malts grown just a few metres from our distillery, and while we’re waiting for our whisky to mature, we can create some absolutely stunning beers which all won Taste of the West awards within the first six months of being out there in the world. 

We’ve also been working on a variety of vodkas and gins, which are almost ready and should be ready to buy in October, which we’re very excited about. 

How does that brewing knowledge mean you’ll get a great whisky at the end?

Well, Eddie is very, very focused on the basics – he knows what makes a great beer. Seeing as we don’t have the same amount of time as the Scottish or Irish distilleries, we need to get it right from the start, so Eddie’s knowledge is key to how the whisky will come out. And in three years’ time, we know we’ll have got the process right from the beginning, so we’ll end up with a sensational single malt. 

What makes Witchmark and Stone Daisy stand out from other distilleries and breweries?

The land around us and the ingredients we use. Fonthill is absolutely beautiful and it’s prime barley region. The malted barley in Wiltshire is phenomenal, so we’re very lucky to have that right on our doorstep.  Come back to me in five years, and I’ll be able to look at the batch number on your bottle and tell you exactly what fields the barley in that batch came from. The water we use is from an aquifer about 150 metres from the distillery – all chalk filtered, which makes a real difference to the taste. 

We’re one of a tiny percentage of gin distillers that make our own alcohol from raw ingredients. Most distilleries buy in their neutral spirit and then add their botanicals and so on. Don’t get me wrong, there are some phenomenal gins and vodkas out there doing that, but we’re really proud of the fact that we do it all from start to finish. 

Sustainability is also very important to us, and we’re working towards becoming a B Corp – at the moment, we’re on track to be the highest scoring distillery in England, which is testament to the resources and the time and effort we’ve put in, and the regenerative farming practices that are used all across Fonthill. 

Will your whisky have a different flavour profile to say, a Scottish or an Irish whisky?

When people ask me what our whisky’s going to be like, the answer is always it’s going to be bloody good Wiltshire whisky! To give an idea of where it will stand on the spectrum of whisky, it will be lighter than a more traditional Scottish whisky, for example – it will have more of a fruity profile, rather than a peaty one. 

Where did the name Witchmark come from?

All of the buildings on the estate are really beautiful, but most importantly, lots of them have what’s known as ‘witch marks’ on them. They’re these little flower shapes with six petals, known as hexafoils, and they’re meant to protect people from witchcraft or bad elements. 

It took us about 18 months to come up with a name, but when we stumbled upon these witch marks, it just fit perfectly. We wanted to capture some of the history and heritage that whisky brings with it. Although we’re a very new distillery, the techniques that we’re using and the malts we’re using – Warminster Maltings is the oldest working maltings in the UK – are all drawn from history. 

What can people expect when they come and visit the distillery?

The Cellar Door, our visitor centre, is very special. It’s a beautiful setting and as well as being able to come and taste our spirits, we’ll be doing whisky tours and cocktail making. We’ll even have a gin school there, so you can come and make your own gin, which is really exciting. It’ll be lovely to see people come along and learn about our production process, see what we’re doing and learn more about the industry. We’re hoping to be open in the next few weeks. 

What does being part of the Wiltshire Marque mean to you? 

When you run a business like ours, it’s not just about sales – that’s important, of course, but relationships and community are, too. There are some absolutely fantastic manufacturers and producers in Wiltshire, so to be part of this group that allows us to all come together is going to be really important. We’re very keen to keep working with the Wiltshire Marque and grow and develop with everyone. 

Witchmark Distillery will open its doors in October. For more information, visit https://witchmark.co.uk/

In the meantime, you can try beers from their sister company Stone Daisy Brewery now at https://stonedaisy.co.uk/

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