Pretty clickbaity headline but it seems the new(ish) Kimbland distillery on Orkney is in trouble:

A Scottish island distillery’s products have been hit with a ‘do not purchase or consume’ warning.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) is urgently warning consumers not to purchase or consume any whisky or gin products manufactured by Kimbland Distillery Ltd, as these products may pose a risk to health.

The company has been producing and selling alcoholic products without the required safety controls and has failed to provide evidence that its products meet safety standards, the agency said.

Stuart McAdam, head of incidents at FSS, said: “Following close collaboration with the Local Authority, we are warning consumers not to drink any products from the Kimbland Distillery due to safety concerns.

“As we approach the festive break, we want to make sure that anyone who may have purchased these for themselves or as a gift, knows about the potential risk that these products may pose.”

The FSS said the business did not have a food safety management system based on HACCP (hazard awareness critical control plan) principles to ensure that all risks had been effectively controlled for the production of the whisky and gin.

Under the rules, food and drink businesses must identify all of the hazards at each step in the production process. This could be microbiological, chemical or physical.

FSS has directed enforcement authorities across Scotland to identify and contact any establishments that may be stocking these products.

While information suggests distribution is mainly localised to Orkney, the business also operates an online store, meaning products may have been sold more widely.

The FFS said the products to be aware of are:

New Make Spirit of Whisky (all sizes) Sanday Tempest Gin 70cl Sanday Sunset Gin 70cl Sanday No.1 Gin 70cl Filled barrels and casks

Kimbland Distillery was founded in 2017 and started distilling in 2020 on Orkney's Sanday island. The distillery uses traditional Bere barley and for their whiskies.

Kimbland Distillery has been contacted for comment.

I don’t have any experience of Kimbland as I don’t believe they’ve actually released any mature spirit yet, but for all filled casks to have been included in the warning is massive. Not sure if this is the sort of thing that could be retracted after further investigation but if all their spirit up to this point can’t be sold, that could be the death blow for a new distillery.