The Distillers’ Company works with education partners to make spirits education more accessible, recognise achievement and support new ideas.
Funding from The Distillers’ Charity allows our partners to provide bursaries, scholarships and awards at different stages of study, from an introductory qualification to advanced technical study, research and entrepreneurship.
Bursaries help people who have the ability and commitment to study but may otherwise face a financial barrier.
Current areas of support include:
The number of places, eligibility requirements and application dates may change from year to year.
Distillers’ scholarships and prizes recognise high achievement and help recipients continue learning beyond a qualification. These include awards for strong performance in WSET and CIBD spirits qualifications, and travel scholarships that let recipients learn from a spirit-producing region.
At the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University, our support includes an annual research grant for an MSc distilling project, in areas relevant to the industry.
The Distillers’ Entrepreneurship Award combines funding and mentoring to help an ICBD student develop a promising early-stage business idea. Previous support has helped turn an academic concept into practical progress towards a new distillery.
In 2025, The Distillers’ Charity funded 29 bursaries and scholarships, including:
Recipients may also be offered access to mentoring, so financial support can come with practical guidance from experienced members of the spirits industry.
Applications are managed by the relevant education partner rather than by The Distillers’ Company. Eligibility, availability and closing dates vary, so please use the partner links below for current information.