Melksham welcomes its first whisky distillery

MELKSHAM has its very own whisky distillery! Ten Hides Distillery, based at Avonside, is distilling what is believed to be the town’s first ever whisky.

The new distillery, owned by local man, Andrew Wilson, has started the three-year maturing process of a new brand, named Ten Hides Whisky.

“It is really exciting; Melksham has a whisky distillery!” says Andrew. “It will be an amazing smooth whisky using Wiltshire barley – the best barley in the country.

“To make whisky you make alcohol from scratch using barley. Once the barley has been through the malting, mashing and fermentation process, it is distilled (to ~65% ABV) and the last part is to put it into a cask and ‘lay it down’ for three years to mature.

“Whisky distilleries are not common, mainly because they are expensive to set up and run. This hopefully helps Melksham stand out from other local towns as a point of difference and will encourage tourists to come to Melksham and see what else there is. I also hope the town can be proud of its own small-batch whisky distillery.”

Between now and the end of the three-year process when the whisky is ready to buy and sample, customers have the opportunity to purchase a cask.

“There are lots of different types of casks that can be used to age the whisky (port, sherry, bourbon or un-used). We are using ex-red wine barrels from France and Spain for our first casks,” explains Andrew, “but will use different casks in the future so we have a range of exciting flavours when they mature.

“How many casks we lay down depends on our next funding round. If we get what we need (around £400k) we will be laying down six to eight casks a month. If not, then one to two a month.”

Ten Hides Distillery opened last year and distils a selection of gin, rum and now whisky. The company ethos is to keep things local, an idea reflective of the ‘Ten Hides’, which was an old English measurement of land in Wiltshire.

“Wiltshire has a farming tradition going back thousands of years; it grows some of the best barley in the country,” explains Andrew. “The barley is malted at Warminster Maltings (one of the last hand maltsters in the country) before being shipped out of the county to the big brewers and distillers in the Midlands and Scotland. We thought, ‘Why are we sending this quality local ingredient out of the county? Let’s make it here, we can make amazing smooth whisky here.’”

The distillery first opened its doors in June last year, where people could visit, try samples of its gin and rum and meet the team. “Every day we are making progress! Though it’s not always easy being a small batch whisky distillery, that is half the fun,” added Andrew.

“The other side of it is getting to meet lots of great people who want to know more about what we do, our great products and how they can support us. The people of Melksham and surrounding areas have been amazing at supporting their local distillery and it makes all the difference.”

Tours and tastings run at the distillery every Saturday from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. People can book through the Ten Hides website and can also contact Andrew directly through the website or social media to arrange private tours at a different time.

To keep up to date with the distillery, purchase products, and for more information, visit the website https://www.tenhides.com/