Kerry & Derek Campbell.
Co-Founders.
Whisky + Place = The dream
We love whisky.
For us it’s more than just having an exceptional liquid in your glass. It’s also about the stories that go alongside your dram, the memories of special occasions and get-togethers with friends and family.
We love where we live.
It’s a very special corner of Scotland with endless skies and miles of breath-taking coastline. We’ve lived here all of our lives and have dreamed of one day opening our own whisky distillery.
We’re making our dream a reality.
In September 2018, on a deserted wet and windy beach on holiday in the Western Isles, we decided to bring these two loves together and make our distillery plans more than just a dream. 8 Doors Distillery was born.
John Ramsay.
Our
Master Whisky Maker.
John has a huge legacy in Scotch Whisky having worked in the industry for over 40 years. We’re delighted to be working with and learning from such an expert to produce the first whisky from 8 Doors Distillery.
The idea of working with a small, independent distillery that’s focusing on maturation as much as distillation really appealed to John and he’s sharing his wealth of knowledge with us as we bring to life our 874 Club launch products.
“It has been wonderful to collaborate with Kerry and Derek to help them realise their dream of a whisky that reflects the unique environment of John O’Groats. Having worked in the industry for many years, it’s great to be involved in producing the first whisky from Scotland’s most northerly distillery”
More about us.
Kerry - the creative one
My whisky journey started at a family barbecue. Until then, I didn’t think that whisky was for me, but a whisky and ginger beer with fresh lime had me converted! In fact it’s still a favourite of mine on a sunny day! I’m really excited to create both a new single malt whisky and whisky experiences at our distillery that will be influenced by our unique location.
Bio: I come from a Commercial and Marketing role within a telecoms company, where I brought home wi-fi discs and baby monitor products to market. As well as launching products i’ve led marketing and social media campaigns for these products which will be good experience I can bring over. I’m really excited to bring our visitor experience to life and to share the stories of our distillery progress in our newsletters and on our social channels - make sure you follow us and say hi! My role required me to travel to London twice a month (before COVID) so i’m really looking forward to spending more time in Caithness building our distillery business and sharing it with you all.
Derek - the number cruncher
I come from a family of whisky enthusiasts and believe that there’s a whisky for every occasion. My chosen dram on a Friday after work would be a whisky with a cube of ice, but I also enjoy a long drink such as a whisky and ginger beer. I’m really looking forward to learning more from experts such as John Ramsay and Ian Evans to bring a bit of whisky magic to John O’Groats.
Bio: I’m the Chief Financial Officer in a battery pack manufacturing company in Caithness that supplies a range of industries and provides x local jobs. As well as crunching the numbers i’m going to really enjoy getting underneath the distillation side of the business and… and Beign born and brought up here i know how challengign it can be… I look forward to providing additional local employment opportunities at our distillery as our plans progress.
Our news
The story of our distillery plans has gained a lot of interest from the media.
Join our team
We’ll be looking for great people to join our team when the distillery opens in 2021.
If you like the sound of what we’re doing and you’re enthusiastic, committed and a fan of whisky we want to hear from you! We’ll have a range of roles that need filled across the distillery and visitor centre. But at this stage we just want to find out more about you, what you’re good at and why you want to join us on our journey.