Caitlin Heard: Girls run the world at The Borders distillery
At the Borders distillery, women run the majority of operations. Team lead Caitlin Heard explains why female representation is so important and her excitement at seeing The Borders’ first quarter cask in the Demeter Collection auction.
Caitlin Heard was just 16 when she first spotted the gleaming copper pot stills of The Borders Distillery transported down Hawick high street on the back of a lorry. Daring her friend to reach out and touch the ‘big copper tanks’ as they rumbled past, Heard had no idea that she’d soon be working with them every day for years to come.
When it opened in 2018, The Borders became the first distillery to bring whisky making back to the region since 1837. For co-founder and managing director John Fordyce it was important to bring the local community along on the journey – in the past few years, the distillery has become something of a training ground for young people taking their first steps in the whisky industry.
Heard joined The Borders straight from school, taking on a Saturday job on the front desk just weeks after the distillery began operation. But within a couple of months the leadership team had spotted Heard’s potential and brought her full-time into production.
“I never even thought distilling was a possibility,” she explains. “I originally wanted to become a veterinary nurse or something with horses (she has two, Holly and Chester), but now I’ve been here for six years and have progressed so much already, I really love it.”
Gleaming future: The Borders’ copper pot stills Heard first spotted as a young girl
After spending five years as a distiller, Heard is now team lead and at the tender age of 24, is being trained to one day take over as distillery manager. “I’ll be doing a very similar job as I’m doing now, as I’ve naturally taken on everything else. I’m just waiting for John to wake up one day and say I’m ready.”
While she waits for the nod that will make her one of the UK’s youngest distillery managers, Heard is busy racking up qualifications in management, health and safety, distilling, first aid and forklift driving, even spending time with the finance and leadership team to learn about commercial decision making.
“I’ve had loads of support from The Borders,” she says. “I’m proud of how quickly I've progressed because I never thought I’d ever do it.”
Female Representation
Starting out, Heard admits that she had no female role models to look up to, despite there being a handful of female distillers on the team. “Everyone above me was male,” she says. Things are starting to change though, and today The Borders is run by a predominantly female production team.
“It’s just amazing having so many women, but we never did it on purpose, we just hired whoever was good for the job,” she explains. “It’s cool how girls are running the world though.”
The team is now comprised of six female distillers, including Cerys Bell, Paige Whillans, Robyn Jardine, Kirsty Olychick and Catherine Hynd, all of whom have been involved in The Borders’ contribution to the OurWhisky Foundation’s Demeter Collection.
Some of The Borders distilling and marketing team with their IWD cask
On International Women’s Day 2024, the team filled an ex-Bourbon quarter cask with The Borders’ new make spirit, which will be auctioned to raise funds for the OurWhisky Foundation. The cask will be stored in The Borders’ bonded warehouses for up to five years, and bottled on a date the winning bidder chooses.
The Borders operates a private cask ownership scheme, but this is the first - and only - quarter cask being offered for sale.
The Demeter Collection
“When we discussed donating a cask for the Demeter Collection we thought a normal American standard barrel would be boring, so decided our first quarter cask would be quite nice,” Heard explains.
Supporting the Demeter Collection and the OurWhisky Foundation’s initiatives is something the whole Borders team felt strongly about.
Kirsten Blackburn, head of marketing, explains: “We need to get better at showcasing and celebrating the women who work in our industry, but doing it in a way that is celebratory while being respectful. The OurWhisky Foundation plays an integral role in that conversation so of course we have to support it. Working with the Demeter Collection allows us to be part of that conversation without falling into some of the stereotypes that women face when working in other male dominated industries.
“We wanted to be part of the auction to promote women in an industry they're maybe not always recognised in, but to also be part of a collective of other whisky companies who all strive for the same message and ambition.”
One of a kind: The International Women’s Day 2024 cask is the first quarter cask filled at The Borders
Although The Borders is leading the way in terms of female representation in its production team, Heard is still often asked the tiring question of what it’s like being a woman in a male dominated industry.
“I say no, because it’s no different working anywhere else, and I can do the same job as any other man, sometimes better,” she explains. “It’s never been a problem for me and I've never had to tackle it head on yet, but I do think representation is important to change people’s views.
“When distilleries post photos on LinkedIn it’s usually of men hammering down hoops and they’re big men, not 19-year-old boys. I do see a lot more places starting to post images of women to prove that we can work in this industry and we can do it just as well as men. Things like that are helping, because a lot more people will see it and think whisky is not just a man’s drink, it’s not just a mans industry, women can do it as well.”
Heard is already showing signs of being an inspirational leader, not just for the men and women in her team but new, emerging female whisky makers looking to the industry for potential careers.
For the young girl whose future literally drove past her on the back of a lorry one day on Hawick high street, becoming The Borders’ next distillery manager would be a dream come true.
The distillery won’t be launching its first single malt for a few years yet, but so long as Fordyce gives the nod by then, it could well be Heard’s signature on The Borders’ first whisky in almost 200 years.
The Demeter Collection auction will run 29 March - 8 April 2024 at whiskyauctioneer.com.
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