Nc'nean distillery

Nc'nean distillery
LocationMorvern, Scotland
OwnerDrimnin Distillery Co
Founded2017
Water sourceTwo nearby springs
No. of stills
  • 1 wash still
  • 1 spirit still
Websitencnean.com Edit this at Wikidata

Nc'nean distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula of the Highlands, Scotland.[1][2] The distillery is beside the Sound of Mull, opposite the Isle of Mull.[3] The distillery name Nc'nean, comes from "Neachneohain", a Gaelic legend which translates as the Queen of Spirits (it is pronounced Nc-ne-an).[4]

The distillery focuses on producing an organic spirit with minimum impact on the local environment.[1] The distillery was the first in the UK to reach net zero carbon emissions during whisky production.[5][6][7][8] The distillery uses renewable electricity, offsets emissions by forest planting and uses 100% recycled glass in its bottles.[7][5] The whisky is unpeated.[9]

History

[edit]

The distillery was founded by Annabel Thomas and commenced produced in 2017.[3][4][10] Initial funding for the distillery came from family, friends, loans, seed investors under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and a £600,000 grant from the EU via the Scottish Government.[3] One known investor is Jeremy Paxman who owns a 0.6% stake.[11] Just prior to the first distillation in 2017, the master distiller Jim Swan died suddenly.[3][10] The current master distiller is Gordon Wood, who previously worked at Diageo.[10][12]

In March 2020, the distillery raised £1.7 million of funds to allow for expansion.[4][13][14][15]

In August 2020, the distillery sold its inaugural bottle of single malt Scotch whisky at auction, raising £41,004 for charity.[10][16]

In February 2022 Nc'nean became a certified B Corp.[17][18]

Production

[edit]

Along with a single malt whisky, the distillery also produces a botanical spirit that is unaged whisky (newmake) spirit mixed with botanicals.[3][4] The botanical spirit was first released in September 2018.[14] The first bottling of the 'quiet rebels' series was released in November 2021. It is named after founder Annabel Thomas.[19] Nc'nean released a single cask bottling for Germany. Nc'nean Aon is four years old and was matured in an ex cream sherry hogshead with the cask number 17-257.[20][21] In April 2022, Nc'nean launched another whiskey series. The first bottling of the series is the "Huntress '2022'.[22] The second bottling of the series was released in April 2023.[23] As the second release of the Quiet Rebels series, the Nc'nean Lorna was released in September/October 2022. It is named after the distillery's first employee Lorna Davidson.[24] With the Nc'nean Aon Cask 18-294, the distillery has released its second single cask whisky for the German market in February 2023.[25][26] In fall of 2023, the third bottling of the 'Quiet Rebels' series followed with the Nc'nean Gordon. It is named after the distillery manager.[27] The distillery released the third bottling in the Huntress series in 2024.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Morgan, Nick (2021). Everything You Need to Know About Whisky (But are Too Afraid to Ask). Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-1529108750.
  2. ^ "Nc'nean". Scotch Whisky.com. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Conboye, Janina (24 December 2019). "Distilling a new way to run a whisky business". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Female-founded Scottish whisky distillery Nc'nean raises €1.9 million through a Seedrs campaign and private investors". EU Startups. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Nc'nean is first net zero whisky distillery in UK". The Spirits Business. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Nc'nean Becomes First UK Whisky Distillery To Reach Net Zero CO2 Emissions". Forbes. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Nc'nean becomes the UK's first net zero whisky distillery". Insider. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Whisky distillery Nc'nean net zero landmark". The Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Whisky makers are turning their backs on peat". BBC News. 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  10. ^ a b c d Bullock, Caroline. "No time like present for a very modern Scotch". The Times. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Jeremy Paxman invests in Scottish organic whisky distillery". The Guardian. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Nc'nean Doku: Annabel Thomas gewährt Einblicke in die Bio-Brennerei". CaptainScotch.de. 17 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Nc'nean whisky distillery raises £1.7 million funding". Insider. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Nc'nean to launch £1m crowdfunding drive". The Spirits Business. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Female-led Highland distillery Nc'nean beats fundraising target ahead of launch of whisky". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Nc'nean's first whisky sets world record at £41,004". The Spirits Business. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  17. ^ "CERTIFIED B CORP". Nc'nean. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  18. ^ "Nc'nean erhält B Corp Zertifizierung". CaptainScotch.de. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  19. ^ "Nc'nean geht mit "Quiet Rebels"-Serie an den Start". CaptainScotch.de. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Nc'nean Aon: Single Cask Whisky für Deutschland". 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Neu von Kirsch Import: Das erste Nc'nean Single Cask für den deutschen Markt". 8 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Nc'nean Huntress 2022: Bio-Brennerei startet neue Whisky-Serie". 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Nc'nean Huntress 2023 Woodland Candy ab demnächst erhältlich • CaptainScotch.de". CaptainScotch.de (in German). 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  24. ^ "Nc'nean Lorna: Zweiter Whisky aus der Quiet Rebels Serie veröffentlicht • CaptainScotch.de". CaptainScotch.de (in German). 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  25. ^ "Nc'nean Aon Cask 18-294: Zweiter Single Cask Whisky für Deutschland veröffentlicht • CaptainScotch.de". CaptainScotch.de (in German). 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  26. ^ Dirk (2023-02-14). "Neu bei Kirsch Import: Nc'nean, Lum Reek und Eden Mill". WhiskyExperts (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  27. ^ "Nc'nean Gordon ist dritter Whisky der "Quiet Rebels"-Serie • CaptainScotch.de". CaptainScotch.de (in German). 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  28. ^ "Nc'nean Huntress Orchard Cobbler in Kürze erhältlich • CaptainScotch.de". CaptainScotch.de (in German). 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-04-23.

56°35′55″N 5°57′55″W / 56.5987°N 5.9654°W / 56.5987; -5.9654

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