As you probably know by now. At Sen5es we love glass bottles and glass jars. We also love to see how our customers use them and learn more about their business! That is why we created our customer spotlight series of blogs. To give our customers the platform for a little self promotion of their amazing products.
In this weeks customer spotlight we are talking to Billy from Carnoustie Distillery. A small family run distillery based in Carnoustie, Scotland. It's a true family affair with a father and son team. Along with some help from Grandad as well!
Check out the full interview below to learn more about this amazing little distillery and their products.
Hi Billy, how are you today?
I’m good thanks, business is a little slow, but you have to take the good with the bad.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Carnoustie Distillery?
We are a small family run business working out of a log cabin, Jory, myself and Granda Ron (Very handyman), we create bespoke small batch flavoured Rum, Gin and Vodka, everything Jory makes is fermented and distilled on site, we use as much local products as we can, our rum is created with organic molasses giving it a rich deep taste.
I’ve seen from your site that you are a father and son team. How does that dynamic work?
Working with my son has been an absolute pleasure, seeing him growing from a quiet boy into a strong young man confident in what he creates makes me so proud. We have our moments, but Granda is usually the calming voice, I just love getting up in the morning and spending time with Jory, we are very much a family comes first team.
I also noticed that when you started back in 2017. Jory was believed to be the youngest owner/distiller in the UK. Who’s idea was it to start the distillery?
Jory was studying social science at University and came home one day and said he had enough of full time education and that he wanted to start a company of his own, he then said he would love to start a distillery, once I had got off the floor with the shock I started filling in forms and 6 months later we had all the licenses, then we realised we didn't have the knowledge required so off Jory went on courses and then we began.
You make 3 different spirits. Gin, vodka and rum. And have several different flavours of each. Which is your most popular?
Our best-selling product by far is our Vodka White Chocolate, served cold over ice it's amazing, then it would be our Gin Pineapple & Mango, tall glass, Ice, some lemonade bit of lime and its excellent on a sunny day, lastly our Rum Dark, splash of coke and quarter of lime, fantastic.
Which is your favourite and why?
We are rum guys at heart but everything Jory makes we enjoy drinking ourselves, our Rum Dark is our favourite and is popular on a Saturday night in our house.
What makes your range of spirits stand out from other distilleries out there?
We make all our own products from scratch and we try go the extra mile by using local A1 ingredients and of course our rum is all made from organic molasses which we feel gives it a rich deeper taste.
I see from your Facebook page that you are a sponsor of a local ladies hockey team. How did that come about?
My daughter loves hockey and has played for Monarchs Hockey Club from a young girl, Monarchs are a well run sports club and we felt we wanted to be part of a successful well run club, these days the clubs struggle and we felt we wanted to give back a little to the community.
How has the global pandemic affected your business? And how have you adapted to survive?
We have struggled through the pandemic, Brexit and now the crises in Ukraine and it’s been extremely difficult for a small company like ours, everyday is a challenge.
Which of Sen5es bottles are you currently using to package your range of spirits?
We love Sen5es as a company as they are reliable, good prices and delivery is quick, we currently use several of there products from a 5cl Flask to a 50cl Polo bottles, and then a Christmas time we get the presentation packages for our products.
What can we see what Carnoustie Distillery in the future?
Our dream is to one day produce a Whisky, but our goal as Carnoustie Distillery is to have our own facility that you can watch our stills working through glass and also sit and have a few drinks and listen to music.
How would you rate Sen5es as a supplier? And is there anything you’d like to see from us in the future?
We would rate Sen5es 8.8 out of 10, just wish sometimes they had a bigger range of bottles, and presentation packages, they are an excellent company which always go the extra mile for their clients and we love being part of their journey.
Thanks so much to Billy for taking the time to chat to us all about his and Jory's business. It's always lovely to hear about a family run business.
Be sure to head over to Carnoustie Distilleries website to learn more about them and find out where you can buy their amazing range of spirits.
Did you and your business want to be featured in our next customer spotlight? Let us know! We love hearing from our customers and it's great marketing for your small business.
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All the best
The team at Sen5es