WHISKY lovers hope to set up a new distillery in Wiltshire with ingredients sourced from around the county.

Andrew Wilson founded Ten Hides while managing a wind farm in Scotland and wants to build the new business in Poulshot Lodge Farm alongside Salisbury Plain.

With the aim of starting production by the end of the year, his plan involves partnering with Warmington Maltings and other homegrown talents to make whiskey, gin and rum.

He said: “I was in the army and did my training in Warminster in 2003, that was my first Wiltshire experience.

“I did my training there and moved five years ago. In the last two years, I decided to give this business idea a proper go and commit to it because it’s always been a dream of mine.

“We’ve not had anything insurmountable so far, we’ve got a great location and distiller and a market plan, so we’re quietly confident.

“Wiltshire produces some of the best barley in the country but that often gets taken out of the area to big breweries further north.

“We could keep it in the county to make something really special with quality ingredients, to build something in the community and connect with local producers to create a new brand and visitors’ destination.”

The distillery’s name apparently comes from an old Wiltshire saying for how much a unit of land produces. As whisky takes three years to mature, the facility will create gin and rum in the meantime.

The new venture reached its £10,000 goal on Kickstarter with two days still left for equity investors to pledge support.

A spokesman said: “Thank you so much to everyone who has invested so far and helped us hit our goal, we are so happy to be making our dream a reality with your help.”

“We are setting out to create a distillery like no other, perfectly poised to make a unique and powerful contribution to the world of spirits, both in Wiltshire and beyond.

“We plan to experiment with grains, ageing, barrel types, not being afraid to innovate or use technology to produce the best quality spirits for maturing.”

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/TenHides or email andrewwilson@tenhides.com