Distillery manager

You would oversee the production of spirits like whisky and gin that would then be bottled and sold – sometimes across the world.

As a distillery manager you’ll have one of the most senior positions at a distillery. You’re responsible for both the production of the spirit and the warehousing operations – where the spirit is stored.

You need to ensure that the distillery meets the agreed production targets (LOA – litres of alcohol) on an annual basis.

You’ll spend a lot of time looking for new ways to improve how the spirit is produced and the quality of the spirit.

You could:

• Manage the distillery employees to make sure that production goals are met

• Make sure that all products maintain quality standards

• Make new products with the Master Distillers

• Monitor quality, cost and delivery

• Work closely with the rest of the team ensuring that the distillery is a safe place to work

• Ensure the distillery complies with environmental and health and safety regulations, and pass this knowledge onto the distillery management team

• Organise the maintenance of equipment

• Act as a brand ambassador to help promote the distillery

• Record information about the production process, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and fill out regulatory documents to suit HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and other bodies

• With the support of the distillery management team and the human resources department, recruit new members of staff at the distillery when required

• Be responsible for the annual budget

The duties of a distillery manager can vary depending on the size of the distillery. You will be more hands-on when working at a smaller distillery. A larger distillery might involve more delegation of tasks.

Other jobs in a distillery include:

• malting – the barley is soaked for 2-3 days in warm water and then traditionally spread on the floor of a building called a malting house. It's raked and turned regularly to maintain a constant temperature. This is also carried out on a commercial scale in large drums which rotate

• mashing – a manual process of combining a mix of milled grain (typically malted barley with supplementary grain). Mashing allows the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars

• warehouse roles – working in the warehouse where the whisky is stored in casks

• customer service roles – this could involve working in the visitor centre shop, cafe or providing whisky tours

• Scottish Whiskey Association

• Scotland Food and Drink