27th of September 2025

Friends, neighbours, family — This is Galloway!

Thank you Angela for setting the scene. This small but mighty region of Scotland, a land that has so many secrets and much to offer.

Ladies and gentleman, my name is Sam Heughan and I’d like to welcome home to our small but mighty, Galloway distillery.

A warm Galloway welcome to you all, I appreciate you all for coming, those who live locally and those who have come from the “big cities”, for making the journey to celebrate with us today. It wouldn’t be the true Galloway welcome, if we didn’t experience some dreich weather.

Today is not just a homecoming for me. It is a full circle.

I stand before you not as Jamie Fraser, or Macbeth (I’m allowed to say it!). I stand here as the lad who used to play in the forest and around the castle ruins, on the shores of loch Ken, not far from here. 

I grew up here, in Galloway. I have always felt thankful for the lucky start I had. Thankful to my mother (despite being a Sassenach) for moving here before I was born, I’m thankful for  community that embraced and supported us. This is the soil that raised me. This is where I learned the meaning of imagination, of creativity, hard work, of friendship, and community. I remember standing on the ruined castle walls, pretending to be a knight (an elf!?) or a king. With a head full of wonder, and a heart full of ancient stories and limitless dreams.

As Angela mentioned, Galloway has so much tangible history. I remember walking those worn paths that our ancestors walked centuries ago. I listened to the stories passed down in music and song. I remember how crystal clear and refreshing the water in the loch is, and once you’re in and the shock is over, a joy to swim in (briefly).

I remember thinking — even as a boy — that this place is special.

Over my career as and actor, I’ve had the privilege to travel the world ….. yet no matter where I travel to and what remarkable places I see, when I meet interesting people and we begin to talk, they always ask, and I’m proud to tell them, where I’m from.… every time I see the sunrise over the water or the sunset on a foreign City skyline, I always find that a part of me is still here. 

And now, after years of travelling, learning, building, and dreaming… we are coming home. Because no matter how far I have gone, this — this land, this place, this community — has always been home.

And the Galloway community, is vibrant and unique. Growing up, our friends were Musicians, farmers, artists, clog makers, the local doctor, the school master, the landowner, Buddhist converts and filmmakers.

This community has kept traditions alive while embracing change. You have built lives of meaning, of kindness, of grit. You’ve built community. Oh and always kept that Galloway Gallow humour.

So now, I feel its time for me to give back to the place, were I first learnt to dream. To imagine great things. To the soil that nourished my dream and the people who shaped me.

I’m here to invest — not just money, but more importantly heart.

We are launching something special. Not just a business. Not just a Distillery. We’re building a destination and sharing this precious place with the rest of the world.

I want to celebrate — our heritage, our stories and nature — while inviting others to experience it with us.

I see a an opportunity to shine a spotlight on all that Galloway has to offer and this is just the first step.. 

So, to our new community: thank you. Thank you for being patient, we are chasing a dream and I ask you to join me and help Galloway flourish. I hope that we may show, all those that come to visit, its spirit, its beauty, its character and the Gallo-way.

Some words from Robert Burns to finish!

O scotia! My dear, my native soil!

For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent, 

Long may thy sons of rustic toil 

Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content!