We start with the “why”. Is this about a flagship brand home, a local craft producer, expanding an existing whisky business, or a completely new venture? We explore how the distillery fits into your wider plans, who you want to attract, your price point ambitions and the part hospitality might play.

Next, we interrogate the site. We review access, neighbours, buildable areas, planning and heritage context, topography, water and landscape. We also look hard at utilities – power, water, drainage and fuel – because these can quietly define the project before you’ve even started.

We then sketch how everything fits together: where the main distillery sits, how production, visitors and back-of-house relate, how vehicles move, and where future phases could go. The result is a clear big-picture plan for the site.

A distillery visit is a journey. We design that journey: arrival, main routes, types of visit, hosting models, key viewpoints and sensory moments. At the same time we keep an eye on wayfinding, public vs private zones, separation of people and vehicles, and emergency routes, so the site feels welcoming and safe.

Room by room, we look at the process flow: grain intake, milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, cask handling and plant. We consider space, height, access, ventilation and drainage, the implications of likely equipment sizes, staff routes, future capacity, visitor sightlines and compliance.

We begin to define what the distillery should feel like. That includes overall form and silhouette, massing, material palette and the atmosphere of key spaces such as the still house and tasting areas. We’ll often use simple visuals and mood boards to test how the building might quietly echo your brand and packaging.

We explore practical sustainability: energy and water strategies, building fabric performance, operational efficiency and options for future upgrades. The aim is not a badge on a brochure, but a distillery that’s efficient, resilient and affordable to run.

We bring it all together in numbers and time. You’ll receive an outline capital budget, key cost drivers, indicative programme, phasing options and a simple cashflow picture. We’ll also set out the next steps – from planning strategy and surveys to when to engage process engineers and other specialists.