Read this inspiring interview with Daniel Fisher one of the co-founders of Sweetdram, a new modern drinks brand based in Edinburgh. Learn more about Sweedram’s exciting story, how to drink Sweetdram, where to find them, supporting sustainability and much much more…….
Please tell us a bit about yourself, your background.
I grew up in a family retail business in NYC so I was always around wine and spirits. While developing the spirits programme for the store, I became obsessed with product categories, the history behind them and the processes used to make these wonderful spirits.
I landed in Edinburgh by chance. I was sourcing wines in Spain one summer and met a Scottish girl in Barcelona. She said if I was ever in Scotland to look her up. Growing up around NYC, the nature of communications is always very direct so I didn’t work out that she was just being polite with her offer to visit Scotland. Reading that as an invite, I showed up in Edinburgh one day and never left. We’re now married and live here with our six year old son.
Back to booze. While in Scotland, I became very interested in whisky and decided to pursue a career in production. I had spent so many years selling other people’s brands and stories, I wanted to create my own. I attended Heriot-Watt University in 2011 to receive a masters in brewing and distilling. While studying, I met, my now friend and business partner, Andrew Smith. We had always discussed the idea of having a modern drinks brand focused entirely on flavour instead of conventional categories and repetitive trends. After school, we went to do our own things in the industry, but in 2014 we pulled the trigger and dropped everything to start Sweetdram.
How did Sweetdram come to be?
Back to booze. While in Scotland, I became very interested in whisky and decided to pursue a career in production. I had spent so many years selling other people’s brands and stories, I wanted to create my own. I attended Heriot-Watt University in 2011 to receive a masters in brewing and distilling. While studying, I met, my now friend and business partner, Andrew Smith. We had always discussed the idea of having a modern drinks brand focused entirely on flavour instead of conventional categories and repetitive trends. After school, we went to do our own things in the industry, but in 2014 we pulled the trigger and dropped everything to start Sweetdram.
What have been your business key challenges so far and how do you overcome them?
We’ve had two major challenges since 2014. The first was supply chain management. When we started Sweetdram, we did so in a little workshop in East London. Our business was based on the idea of gypsy production, something we see all the time in brewing but not in distilling. Through collaboration we came up with the ideas for our first three core products. In that respect, I’m thankful of our time in London because it landed us the products we now have. I don’t think we would have the same products if we built a distillery from the start. Because we were adamant about not being a contract brand [so many gins we drink in the UK are contract produced in London], we travelled to the host distillery to produce each batch ourselves. We quickly became stretched very thin and sales were growing, so we overcame the supply chain issues by controlling production. In steps the Edinburgh distillery home…
Andrew and I love Edinburgh so what better place to set up our home. Building our facility in Sighthill has been a ton of work but really fun at the same time. We still had one other major challenge; sales. The independent bars and restaurants of the world have showed us overwhelming support but stepping into the next tier of sales has been immensely difficult. Our products are unconventional, which, to most buyers, is viewed as a ‘difficult sell.’ We have combatted this by stripping the message down to one line; how you drink it. We’ve seen some of the best bartenders in the world make some fantastic Sweetdram cocktails but how are most people going to drink it? We started pushing simple serves; “this with this” as our friend likes to say. Escubac with tonic. Smoked Spiced Rum with ginger beer. Whisky Amaro with ice. Couldn’t be easier for the drinker.
And highlights?
It’s been a long ride, but the highlight for me has been establishing Sweetdram in Edinburgh. Sustainability has influenced all aspects of the distillery, from only using 100% recycled toilet paper from Who Gives a Crap to the recovery of production waste. For example, compost bays built from pallets, help turn spent botanicals into feed for new botanicals, which are currently being grown on site for future limited-edition spirits. We also designed a recirculating chilling system that saves over three Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water every year. And this is only the beginning. There are so many more ideas we have to reduce waste and create a circular economy.
Sweetdram is so much more than a drink. Tell us about your companies ethos and community.
We’re community driven. Andrew and I didn’t start Sweetdram to sell off. We want to build a community of other like-minded independents working for change. This ranges from mental health in the drinks industry to educational programmes for students. We’ve just started a brewing programme that allows students to gain practical experience before entering their work careers. With our space, there is so much scope to build on our core values of being independently owned and community driven.
What are you listening to just now?
We recently became the exclusive spirits partner for the SAY Award, so I’ve been listening to all the submissions for this year’s award. So much to digest but there are some great independent Scottish bands out there that I had no idea about. When I’m not sifting through those albums, you can assume Kraftwerk is receiving constant play at the distillery.
Favourite Scottish word?
Definitely ‘wee.’ I’ve pretty much eliminated ‘little’ from my vocabulary – ‘wee’ is the best descriptor.
24 hours Edinburgh… where would you take someone visiting the city?
I would start them at the distillery, of course, and work our way to the city. We’d stop at Little Rascal Wine Bar which is on our way into the centre. There have been some wonderful independent wine bars opening in Edinburgh but we need to drink there to keep them open. Wine is so much more exciting in Scotland compared to when I first moved here. Then we’d cruise up to Calton Hill to show off the magnificent landscape we have here. To hydrate from the walk, a pit stop at Salt Horse is certainly a requirement. From there, I would want to show off Leith. Pre-dinner whisky at the Vaults, dinner at Borough and post-dinner drinks at Nauticus. All evenings in Edinburgh must end at my favorite bar; Under the Stairs. There are so many great bars in town but I call Under the Stairs home. They’ve been humbly running one of the best places in Edinburgh for more than 10 years.
What is next for you and Sweetdram?
We’re in the early stages of a new events venue called 54EP located at our Sighthill home. We want to host a range of different events, particularly music. Beyond that, we’re looking forward to using our distillery garden to create some exciting limited edition releases.
Address: 54 Bankhead Crossway S, Edinburgh EH11 4EP
Web: sweetdram.com
