High Coast Distillery

The power station made electricity for the large timber-sorting works at Sandslån.^1,2,3 Mats de Vahl bought the old building in 1991.⁹ In 2007 a group of whisky-loving friends formed the company.^3,4 The founders were the brothers Mats and Per de Vahl, whose idea the distillery was, with Jan Sahlén, Per Rydberg, Anders Jonasson and Thomas Larsson.^3,4 In 2008 the company, Ådalen Destilleri AB, bought much of its future process equipment when Vin & Sprit AB closed its plant in Sundsvall.¹

In 2010 its copper stills arrived, its first warehouse was finished and its first cask was filled.^4,5,6 In 2013 its first spirit turned 3 years old and could be called whisky, and its production rate reached 100,000 LPA (litres of pure alcohol) a year.⁴ In 2017 chief executive Thomas Larsson announced a decision to triple capacity, adding 2 new copper stills and 4 new washbacks.^4,5,10 The new stills went in during 2018, and 2019 was its first full year with a double boiler pair, or two pairs of stills, making 200,000 LPA.^4,5,10

The name change to High Coast was set for 30 June 2018; Box came from the Box AB wooden box factory, High Coast from the region.^4,7,8 In 2021 the rate rose to 280,000 LPA a year, with 14 batches a week instead of 10, and a new steam boiler powered by renewable energy was installed.^4,5,11 A fifth warehouse, finished in 2024, raised its storage capacity to 2,800,000 OLA, the original litres of alcohol filled into casks, counted as pure alcohol.^5,12 Its rate later went back to about 200,000 LPA, 10 batches a week, its earlier normal rate.^5,6 From 8 April 2026, with its warehouses full, it cut its production rate to about 70,000 LPA a year.⁵

It takes its water from Bålsjön, a spring lake north-east of Kramfors.^2,4 Most of its malt is Swedish pilsner malt, and its smoked malt gets its character from peat from Scotland.⁴ Fermentation lasts 82.5 hours on average, using a French distillery yeast chosen for fruitiness.⁴ The distillery took inspiration from Islay whisky: its stills are quite similar to Kilchoman's in shape and size.⁴ It aims for a fruity new spirit and, like many Japanese distilleries, uses a clear wort, the sugary water from the mash, for more fruity flavours.⁴ Its first cut, where it starts keeping spirit, comes after 13 minutes and its second at 67%; for peated spirit it waits longer, cutting after 30 minutes and at 60%.⁴ Its condensers, which turn vapour back into spirit, use ice-cold cooling water, and the Ångermanälven stays a few degrees above zero for much of the year.