Westnile Distilling Company Limited [1] is a private beverage company that started in Arua, Uganda. It manufactures gin, mineral water, and glucose solution.
Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region of Uganda.
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a country in East-Central Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin, and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate.
Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries. Gin is one of the broadest categories of spirits, all of various origins, styles, and flavour profiles, that revolve around juniper as a common ingredient.
Although conceived as an idea in 1972, factory construction started at a fast pace in Arua around 1978. Then civil wars and instability halted work plus forced the company's founders into exile. When Uganda regained peace, construction was resumed in 1989 and finished.
In 2005, arsonists struck and burnt down the 4 Billion UgX factory on Ujuo Road (behind Arua Public Secondary School). Manufacturing lines and products worth millions were destroyed, but the concrete tower still remains. [2] The rest of the factory was saved by Civil Aviation Authority trucks from Arua Airfield after the company owner Dr Eric Adriko phoned the CAA Deputy Managing Director Dr. Makuza. Meanwhile, the LC 1 Chairman and residents protected the other units.
Eric Tiyo Sekebuga Adriko is a Ugandan industrialist, mechanical engineer, businessman, academic and politician. Effective 12 September 2016, he serves as the Chancellor of Muni University, one of the public universities in the country.
In January 2007, a new factory was reborn out of the ashes and relocated to Plot 6 - 12 Makamba Road, Lungujja, in a neighbourhood named Kosovo (within Kampala). The company launched Hunters Gin plus its own 'Sunshine Mineral Water' extracted from underground rocks on the new premise. It had now joined the mineral water craze gripping Uganda. With a process and machinery unique in East and Central Africa, it continues to produce its products: Adrikos 7 Hills Vodka, White Rhino Gin and Rum Raggi.
Lungujja is a neighborhood within Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.
Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper is estimated to have population of 1,680,800 people in 2019 and is divided into five boroughs of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Rubaga Division.
The company has a strict policy against consumption of alcohol by Under 18s.
Endowed with significant natural resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits. The economy of Uganda has great potential, and it appeared poised for rapid economic growth and development.
Port Bell is a small industrial centre in the greater metropolitan Kampala area, in Uganda. Port Bell has a rail link and a railroad ferry wharf used for International traffic across Lake Victoria to Tanzania and Kenya.
Jinja is a city in Uganda, located on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Waragi is a generic term in Uganda for domestic distilled beverages. Waragi is also given different names, depending on region of origin, the distillation process, or both. Waragi is known as a form of homemade Gin. The term "Waragi" is synonymous with locally distilled gin in all parts of Uganda. However, Uganda Waragi is a distinct and a particular brand of industrially distilled gin specific to Uganda. Other brands of distilled gin which are done by individuals at small scale are also available, but they are also unique and different from each other. The most common are: 1. "Kasese-Kasese" which was originally distilled in the district of Kasese in western Uganda and sold all over the country; 2. "Lira-Lira" which first originated in Lira district in northern Uganda and sold all over the country as well. These two brands "waragi" have different tastes and scents from each other. The distillation process in both cases produce highly distilled gin at the level produced industrially. A commercial brand called Uganda Waragi is produced and marketed by East African Breweries Limited.
Arua Airport is a civilian airport serving the city of Arua in the Northern Region of Uganda. As of November 2016, it is one of the 47 airports in the country.
Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBU) is a commercial bank in Uganda and is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the national banking regulator.
The Mukwano Group of Companies, commonly known as the Mukwano Group, is a conglomerate based in Uganda, with operations in other East African countries.
The New Vision Group of Companies, commonly known as the Vision Group, is a multimedia conglomerate in Uganda. It publishes the New Vision (newspaper), an English language daily newspaper, that appears in print form and online, as well as newspapers and magazines in a variety of Ugandan languages.
Pride Microfinance Limited (PMFL), is a microfinance deposit-taking institution (MDI) in Uganda. It is licensed by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator.
Seeta, sometimes wrongly spelled as Seta, is a township in Uganda.
Roofings Group, often referred to simply as Roofings, is the largest manufacturer of steel construction materials in Uganda, with installed production capacity of 72,000 metric tonnes annually.
Muni University (MU) is a public multi-campus university in Uganda. It is one of the public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country, licensed and supervised by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (UNCHE).
Nile Breweries Limited (NBL) imports and manufactures beer and produces purified drinking water in Uganda.
The Osukuru Industrial Complex, sometimes referred to as Sukulu Industrial Complex, is a set of related industries, in the mining and manufacturing sectors, under construction in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.
The House of Dawda Group is a privately owned conglomerate in Uganda.
Jesa Farm Dairy Limited, often referred to as Jesa Farm Dairy, is a dairy processing company in Uganda.
GBK Dairy Products Limited, often referred to as GBK Dairy, is a dairy processing company in Uganda.
The Lira–Gulu–Nebbi–Arua High Voltage Power Line is a high voltage electricity power line, under construction in Uganda. It connects the high voltage substation at Lira, in Lira District, to another high voltage substation at Arua, in Arua District, all in the Northern Region of the country.