Elixir Distillers appoints Diageo's Georgie Crawford as distillery manager

New Scottish spirits maker Elixir Distillers has announced the appointment of Georgie Crawford as the distillery manager for its forthcoming Islay distillery.

Georgie's whisky career began in 2002 at The Vaults in Edinburgh, the home of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. She has spent the past 14 years with Diageo's distilleries, more recently as manager for Lagavulin and then the Port Ellen Distillery revival project. 

She will join Elixir Distillers in summer 2021, when it is expected that construction will begin at the distillery site on Islay's south coast.

Spearheaded by The Whisky Exchange co-founders Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, Elixir Distillers plans to bring the best of modern and traditional techniques to its whisky making. Its facility - which will include a distillery, visitor centre and on-site educational facility - was granted planning approval at the end of 2020.

Sukhinder Singh said: "Having grown up on Islay, attending school a stone's throw from our distillery site, Georgie's love for the island and all its distilleries is unrivalled. She not only shares our passion for Islay whisky, but also our vision for the future and I know that she will bring both exceptional expertise and a fresh approach to a new Islay distillery. We're genuinely excited to have her on board as we begin the creation of our distillery."

Georgie said: "I have been friends with Sukhinder and Ollie [Elixir Distillers’ head blender] for a long time and was always keen to hear about their plans for the new distillery build here on Islay. It is an honour to be asked to join their team and to help them take their ideas from plans to reality."

22 April 2021 - Bethany Whymark