Next up in our Meet the Team series is a face you will probably recognise! Peter Holroyd, Kingsbarns Distillery Manager, shares his story.
"I studied Brewing and Distilling at university and started to homebrew beer obsessively with my flatmates during that period, before going to work in a proper brewery. Prior to joining Kingsbarns as Distillery Manager in 2014, I was the head brewer for a small brewery outside of Glasgow, but I always had a love of whisky, enjoyed visiting distilleries and had a fascination with how this liquid was made. So when a job at Kingsbarns came up, I jumped at the opportunity… I’m still here 7 years later!
I love my role because I’m involved in making something that people enjoy. I work with a team of folk that are incredibly dedicated and passionate about Scotch whisky and in sharing that passion with visitors and consumers. At the end of the day, producing flavour is what it’s all about in the distillery, but Kingsbarns is a dram with real provenance - its anchored to the place that it is made. We’re a close-knit, family run distillery; I think that’s something a wee bit special and I’m immensely proud to be a part of it.
Moreover, I love the variety of the role. It entails every stage of the production process, from malt intake, to new make spirit going into casks, to the distiller’s version of a gym workout - dragging 210 bourbon barrels out of a shipping container and stacking them into a pyramid of casks in the yard! I also work with our Visitor Centre team, plan engineering projects and even get to hit the road and share our story at whisky festivals and with distributors (although I’m missing that part at the moment), so life never gets boring!"
Follow Peter's whisky journey on Instagram at @peter.holroyd
