South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth visited the Dark Art Distillery in Kirkcudbright last week to learn more about this fantastic new tourist attraction.

Dark Art Distillery opened in July 2021 and has welcomed thousands of visitors to date, with a small team dedicated to growing this even further.

The award-winning craft gin distillery was founded by Andrew Clark Hutchison and it is situated in a renovated building it shares with a planetarium, a pottery business and a children’s bursary amongst others.

During the visit Colin Smyth met with VisitScotland’s Director of Industry and Destination Development Rob Dickson and Regional Director for Dumfries and Galloway Annique Armstrong, as well as Andrew Clark Hutchison, the Founder of the Dark Art Distillery and Fiona Williamson, the Distillery’s Head Distiller.

Colin Smyth said: “It was fantastic to visit the Dark Art Distillery and to learn more from Andrew and Fiona about the founding of the distillery and about their ambitious plans for the future.

“The distillery is a fantastic asset for Kirkcudbright and is a great tourist attraction for Dumfries and Galloway

“The team’s passion for their product is very clear and they have achieved so much in a relatively short space of time.

“The pandemic hit our region very hard and it is brilliant to see new ventures like the Dark Art Distillery opening and bringing people back.

“During Covid, a lot of people took their holidays closer to home and now that restrictions have lifted, it’s clear that there’s still so much our region can offer.”

The local MSP added: “Tourism is hugely important to our region and it was good opportunity to discuss with VisitScotland the important work that needs to be done to promote our region but also develop what we have on offer to tourists. It’s a competitive market and it’s vital that we keep improving the experience for visitors, such as developing more online booking opportunities and ensuring that visitor attractions work together to sell our region to the world.”