ESMS FP James Porteous is the founder of the Electric Spirit Co., whose Albion Road distillery was the first to operate in Leith since the 1970s. Since leaving ESMS in 2004, James completed an undergraduate degree in Product Design from Glasgow School of Art, and more recently, an MSc in Brewing & Distilling from Heriot-Watt University. A man with many hats, he has worked as a designer, photographer, distiller and drayman, and during lockdown, co-founded a cycling team. His company's gin, Achroous, was recently named Scottish Gin of the Year. We caught up with him ahead of his appearance at SMC Prize Giving to find out more about his entrepreneurial journey.
You’ve had an incredibly successful year with your gin, Achroous, recently named Scottish Gin of the Year, tell us a bit about your company, Electric Spirit Co.?
It was a nice award to win, especially in such a crowded market. I started Electric back in 2015, off the back of a MSc in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot Watt. We produce a single gin, Achroous, and operate from a distillery in Leith - when we opened, we were the first distillers to operate there in 40 years. Since then, we've moved site a couple of times, and I now share a distillery with the team from Lind & Lime Gin on Coburg Street. We're technically competitors but we have a good working relationship.
What’s it like running your own company?
It varies on a daily basis. When it's going well it's better than any job you've ever had, and when it's not going well, it can be an incredibly hard, lonely and exhausting place. It's never entirely relaxing, but it does give you a level of freedom that you'd never have as an employee, both in terms of decisions you make in the business, and the flexibility it offers around the rest of your life. It's definitely not for everyone, but I enjoy it.
Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
I grew up with my parents running a veterinary practice - my father the vet, my mother the practice manager - so the idea of having your own business was always the thing I saw as the norm, though it also set me very firmly against the idea of ever becoming a vet. Generally, I've always felt happier when I'm doing my own thing, so I think starting my own business was fairly inevitable.
You left Stewart’s Melville College in 2004 to study Product Design at Glasgow School of Art. What inspired your subject choice?
I originally got into Product Design Engineering but didn't enjoy it - there was too much of a focus on the engineering side. I convinced the Art School to let me change subject to Product Design. I'd always enjoyed drawing as a kid, and then design at school, so it seemed like a good fit - I think in the broadest sense, I just wanted to end up in a job where I got to be creative for a living, and product design felt like the best path.
Your career path has been varied, a designer, photographer, distiller and drayman, and during lockdown, co-founding a cycling team, what have you learned from all these different roles?
Glad to see you got drayman in there. Overall, I think the main thing is that no experience from a job is irrelevant, even if you end up changing career. I don't work as a designer any more, but the practical skills from that helped me build my current business, and the design theory I was using for big agency clients is equally as applicable when developing new products for Electric. Being a drayman was a post-uni job to pay the bills, but it introduced me to all of the first customers for the gin, and my photography experience gets used all the time at work - I still shoot professionally for other companies too. The cycling team was a bit of a curveball. A friend and I created it out of lockdown boredom and a desire to stay fit. Things grow arms and legs when you've got a lot of time on your hands, and we ended up with an e-sports team of hundreds of people, racing under my company's brand.
What has been the most challenging part of your career so far?
Trying to figure out ways to grow a premium drinks company when everyone is lacking disposable income has been a real battle in the last year or so, regardless of the awards the business has won. Still, it forces you to be creative, and we're pushing through some new product development as a result.
What are some of your fondest memories from your time at ESMS?
It feels obvious, but Craft & Design (now Product Design) had a profound impact on my career. Louise Burt and her department were always incredibly supportive, and studying design in Sixth Form was a great lead-in for the studio-based style of learning I'd go on to at Art School. My time at ESMS was great - I've got fond memories of Carbisdale and various ski trips, and I'm still close with a lot of my friends from school.
You are returning to speak to our 2024 leavers at Stewart’s Melville College. What advice would you give to our class of 2024 leavers?
I am, and I've been thinking about the advice part since I was asked. I'd say a key thing is not to be overly concerned about coming up with a life plan at this point. It might feel like you're locking yourself into a path with university course, an apprenticeship or similar, but it's just a first swing - you can always make a change. I did it at university, and then again when I changed career from design to distilling, and I do not regret either one, at all.
