#UnordinaryPlaces like the #FaroeIslands are always good for some #UnordinaryIdeas!

Despite it’s close proximity to Scotland, the small archipelago of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic did not yet have a whisky brand on the market. This is about to change. Test production and maturation of the“Faer Isles Whisky” has been conducted for some time now, and from August 1.  to September 30. this year 2020, whisky enthusiasts all over the world can register as founding members in order to later have the opportunity to invest in the project. Read more about this #unordinary business community!

The beautiful and remote Faroe Islands are the optimal location for whisky production and maturation because of the abundance of clean surface water. This is due to the high humidity and rainfall caused by the passing North Atlantic Current, which also ensures the very stable year-round temperature. The constant wind provides a salty atmosphere that has been used for centuries to dry and ferment food and will now benefit Faroese whisky as well.

Behind the project are a group of local whisky enthusiasts and investors. To ensure the necessary industry knowledge an Advisory Board of International experts within spirit production has been established, composed of people with extensive experience in the spirits industry, both from a production, quality assurance, and business perspective. The Advisory Board is non-executive.

As a craft distillery, Faer Isles Distillery will only be making single malt whisky under their own label. Later, barrels may be sold to independent bottlers but there are no plans for blends. The first edition will be a peated whisky on bourbon casks. But experimenting goes on with maturation on different casks from day one in order to see how the whisky will optimally mature.

Faer Isles has been testing for two years now (Phase 1) using small-size equipment and are now investing in commercial-scale equipment (400 LPA a week) to be used for the interim Phase 2. Phase 3 will be the full-scale craft distillery (approx 800 LPA a week) that can later be extended/further developed. The testing phase has been managed by two of the founders, who are locals on the Faroe Islands: Bogi Mouritsen (founder of Einmalt, the Faroese Whisky Society), and Bjarni Lamhauge (engineer with many years of experience from brewing). Samples of the spirits have been sent to Julia Nourney for evaluation. The other founders are Dánial Hoydal (20 years experience within marketing and communications and a serial entrepreneur) and Christian Grahn (current CEO of Keel Solution). On the staff are also Jana Jacobsen (6 years at Glenfiddich). For advice on distilling, distillery design, product quality etc. external consultants are used.

Founding members will become lifetime members of the Fair Isles Founder’s Club, making them eligible for several benefits, including the pre-emptive right to later buy shares in Faer Isles Distillery Spf at a discounted rate. They will also receive a reward package containing a sample of the First Edition 3-year-old whisky, along with samples of the Faer Isles Seaweed Special Edition Gin and a small bottle of the new make whisky, including oak cubes for home maturation.

The obtained funding through the membership payment will be used to purchase initial distilling equipment to start commercial production. This is the first step towards the actual crowdfunding that will be launched later this year that to fund the full-scale commercial production at the picturesque site in the old Viking village of Kvívík.

Crowdfunding via Crypto Currency 

The crowdfunding will be managed through a Security Token Offering. An STO is similar to an IPO as it enables people to invest in a company. The difference is that the shares are not traded on a traditional stock exchange but are instead traded via a crypto platform. This method of funding is becoming more and more common for startups, but Faer Isles Distillery will probably be the first whisky distillery in the world that is funded this way.

The crypto platform used is based on ERC-20 (Ethereum), which is approved by EU legislation. Token-based crypto funding is basically a very efficient and consistent method to create a digital share register to keep track of all the micro-owners registered through crowdfunding. Everyone who invests in (or later trades) shares will need to go through the KYC process, which is governed by EU legislation, ensuring protection against money laundering (AML) and similar problems that have previously been connected with crypto funding.

Tokenized shares are more easily tradable than normal shares on stock exchanges, which make it easier for whisky enthusiasts to use Faer Isles Distillery shares as an investment option that they can later trade. So the upside from an investor point of view would be both the (potential) annual dividends but also the (potential) price gains of the share. Since so few companies are yet to be traded this way, tokenized shares are highly attractive to investors owning any form of crypto currency.

Read more on www.faer.io

More about the knowledge destination and the business community there on the LinkedIn showcase of Visit Faroe Islands Meetings and on www.tmf-dialogue.net