Tucked away in the Northumberland market town of Wooler, Ad Gefrin Distillery is more
than a whisky producer. It’s a full-on cultural experience including a heritage centre and is
embarking on a mission to bring from the past to the present a local distilling tradition that
slept peacefully for over two centuries.
Ad Gefrin opened in 2023 and brings together ancient storytelling with modern cutting-edge
distillation to create one of England’s distinctive whisky destinations.
Where is it?
Ad Gefrin sits at the gateway to the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland. A landscape full of
natural beauty and lots of history. The distillery is near to the archaeological site of
Yeavering, a royal Anglo-Saxon palace and court dating back to the 7th century.
This connection is central to the brand. “Ad Gefrin” itself references this ancient royal site,
meaning “hill of the goats,” and when you visit, the entire visitor experience is built around
reviving the “Golden Age of Northumbria.”
The distillery itself sits within a wider tourist spot that includes an Anglo-Saxon museum,
exhibition spaces, and hospitality venues. The site blends modern architecture with
historical inspiration, including reconstructions like a Great Hall, designed to immerse
visitors in early medieval culture. What we’re sneakily pointing out, is that it’s a great place
for non-whisky enthusiasts to visit as well.
Ad Gefrin will tell you that the location plays a large part in the production of their products.
Drawing water from the Cheviot Hills via its own borehole, and with local farms growing the
barley for making whisky, the distillery yells provenance, or dare we venture ‘terroir’. The
tangible “field-to-glass” philosophy ensures a sense of place with everything beginning and
ending in Northumberland, well that’s until you take some products home!
It’s a young distillery; do they have whisky yet?
Yes and no. Although Ad Gefrin is a relatively young distillery, its product portfolio is already
diverse and evolving.
The main focus is on English single malt whisky, and like all young distilleries it’s in the
process of making and maturing its own spirit. We’re looking forward to 2027 when it is
hoping to release its first single malt.
Meanwhile, a visit will not be in vain if you are looking for some amber nectar.
You can purchase Tácnbora, a blend of Scotch and Irish whisky, which has been released in a
few batches, including an Islay Cask Finish, Cognac Cask finish and a Sauternes cask finish.
These expressions, while being a commercial enterprise also allows the team to
demonstrate the styles of whisky they will be looking to make with their own spirit.
Other Ad Gefrin products include:
Thirlings Dry Gin – featuring more local ingredients including heather, pine, and sea
buckthorn and Irish Moss, again reinforcing the distillery’s nod to regionality.
Flyte – a whisky cream liqueur, using the blend noted above.
In addition, Ad Gefrin in these early years, are focussing on building a community via various
offerings including cask ownership programmes and memberships which entitle you to
exclusive bottlings.
The “Techy Bits” (Production & Process)
Ad Gefrin is particularly interesting due to how it is balancing what would be considered
traditional whisky making with a modern approach.
As noted earlier it all starts with locally grown barley, sourced from a network of
Northumberland farms. The distillery works closely with growers and maltsters (notably
Simpsons Malt nearby) to ensure quality and traceability.
Water is drawn from beneath the distillery itself, Cheviot water shaped by the region’s
geology.
This adherence to sourcing ingredients is something many new craft distilleries are focussing
on, and it clearly ties directly into the brand’s storytelling around land and heritage.
Mashing, Fermentation & Distillation
The production process follows a largely traditional Scotch-style model:
Milling: Around one tonne of malted barley is milled daily into grist.
Mashing: The grist is combined with local water in the mash tun.
Fermentation: The wort is fermented in wooden washbacks made from Douglas
fir—an intentional choice over stainless steel for flavour development.
Distillation: The wash is distilled in two large copper pot stills.
These stills are produced by Forsyths of Rothes and weigh in at around three tonnes each,
taking over 1,200 man-hours to build!
Maturation
After distillation, the spirit is casked and matured on-site. Like the climate in Scotland, the
area is thought to be ideal for maturation.
The full production process (excluding maturation) is around five days.
What else you can see and do at Ad Gefrin
As many distilleries are, Ad Gefrin is also a destination. You can take a distillery tour which
lasts around 90 minutes, and yes, there are tastings.
On top of that, there is the museum, and restaurants, a local castle and the coast isn’t too
far away either.
Ad Gefrin is rare in its approach, part museum, part distillery which means the whole family
can be involved in a visit.
Founded by Alan and Eileen Ferguson, it achieves what they set out to do, create a legacy
for the local area, including heritage, promoting tourism and supporting the local economy
and communities.
As a new distillery with its own single malt yet to appear on the shelves, Ad Gefrin is already
present at whisky festivals showing us what it is doing and building up that anticipation for a
new English Whisky.
With such a strong vision from a commercial and personal sense, Ad Gefrin has its sights on
the future, and we can’t wait to see what happens, oh and of course taste the whisky!
You can find out more on the Ad Gefrin website by clicking here
