Border Life: Australian millionaire comes to the rescue of Scotland's most historic distillery
Bruce McKenzie's looks back at the distillery in its heyday
An Australian businessman who made his fortune in packaging and yoghurt has sold the businesses to fund his passion for Scotch whisky.
David Prior discovered Scotch as an end-of-week treat at university, which made him an oddity as most young men in Australia drink beer.
He decided to invest in a Scottish distillery to produce products for a younger market, but found that it’s easier said than done.
He said: "I sent a young guy over from Australia to find a distillery we could buy and after a few days, he phoned and said: ‘Mate, these things just don’t come on the market that often!'"
Instead, Mr Prior resolved to build one himself, and when the 200-year-old Bladnoch Distillery in Galloway came up for sale, he saw his chance to restore this once major local employer back to its former glory.
He has already installed state-of-the-art equipment to get the new products flowing.
Down under, Mr Prior is a keen surfer, and part of the profits from the distillery are funding work protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
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