Installation of our distillery is happening right now, and following tests of everything from the operational side to the water we will be using, we hope to be ready to produce our first batches of BrewDog spirit at the start of April. Equity Punks, if you’re attending the AGM on the 9th you may well get to try some highly exclusive trial batches! (We’ll say no more for now).

It’s remarkably different to the V1 & V2 prototype gins the brand released in the months preceding the launch, but it’s clear to see the thought process that’s gone in from them to this final outcome and overall- it’s a really well assembled Gin. As a flavour structure it has been distilled perfectly to deliver the three main elements, which are all clear and present, arrive in deliberate succession and have a graceful clarity when they do. The secondary citrus elements ( coriander seed, lemongrass, kaffir) help add some levity towards the finish, which would otherwise be like getting lashed by pine, while elements like mace, cardamom and pink peppercorns add a little complexity throughout. It’s nice to see almonds being used to add some weight to the mouthfeel too. Integrity is also a lost art when it comes to the idealistic soulmate to Vodka. The rise of so-called craft Gin has been propelled by faux-artisans adding a twist of this, a handful of that to bulk spirit and bottling it up. Chance your arm and see what flies. Not anymore. First impressions are of a strong grapefruit peel aroma mixed with pine, but hold it under your nose for a while and there’s also an underlying complexity. It’s not a specific undertone, more like a set of eyes fixing you from the horizon, too far to discern, too close to ignore. You will get a bespoke ¼ barrel cask of Lone Wolf whisky – deciding how long we age it for and when it should be bottled, plus you will design and distil your own unique gin and receive four cases.Once everything is online and all systems are go, we will become the only craft distillery in Scotland to make our base spirit from grain, under one roof. This is hugely important to us – and it starts with our BrewDog vodka. We've removed a section of our brewhouse roof and installed a colossal 19m high 60-plate rectification column, to get the purest, cleanest spirit possible. The spirit begins with a mix of 50% wheat and 50% barley that spends 4 to 5 days fermenting. The team’s experience as brewers doesn’t just comes handy here, but is obvious in each element of the production of their wash, in that they even use a bespoke BrewDog yeast to create the desired alcohol and flavour combination. We will ship a case of the very first bottling of Lone Wolf whisky to your door and a case of limited edition single cask whisky aged in an Equity Punk-only cask which will not be available to buy. This will then form the basis of our vodka and gins, and where others buy in neutral spirit in bulk, we will distil everything from scratch. The head of our distillation team Steven Kersley is now dialling in our gin recipe using the 50 litre pilot still, with over 30 different botanicals for trial, building up the flavour complexity until the blend and ratios are perfect.

We don’t want to rest on the laurels of a location, like so many within the industry. Flexibility is vitally important to us, and the Lone Wolf distillery will have experimentation at its heart. With the pilot still we can produce a huge range of potential spirits, and with our epic barrel store we can age and then blend the results to allow a fascinating range of flavours to develop. A spokesperson for BrewDog said of the new release: “BrewDog Distilling Co.’s innovative distilling team have brought a taste of the tropics to the UK just in time for Spring and the prospect of freedom. The time has come to mount a kamikaze assault on their entrenched positions. To use the combined weaknesses of those in the industry against them and force a world dominated by charmers and chancers to its knees. LoneWolf has arrived to challenge the perceptions of what a spirit can be.As they try to balance transparency and inclusive, fan-focused engagement with their inherited Brewdog anti-establishmentarian attitude, it’ll be interesting to watch Lone Wolf develop as a brand in their own right and to see how their identity will be shaped, honed and put into practice. It may be “raised by wolves,” but probably won’t be as controversial once it’s a fully fledged, stand-alone brand. Lone Wolf was one of the most hotly anticipated launches of the year, but since its launch in May 2017 it has remained a shadowy figure of the night, quietly growing in stature and confidence, but not quite revealing all. Yet. Furthermore, while they may go from grain to glass, so too do William Chase, Adnams, Copper Rivet, Arbike, Dog House and many more. Their process gives them authenticity to command attention and respect, but this does not make them a lone producer, beyond reproach and with the right to cast judgement without expecting to alienate many potential fans as they do so. This wash travels into what can only be described as a majestic 11 thousand litre “triple bubble” still, to be distilled up to around 60% ABV. At which point it undergoes a second distillation in a separate still where it is sent through their 18 metre high column (possibly the tallest in Europe, if not definitely the tallest in the UK), hitting plate after plate in the process of not just raising ABV up to 97%, but smoothening out and softening up in the act of doing so.