Ncn' ean

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NCN'EAN DISTILLERY also see Drimnin

NcNean is a Western Highland Malt with a capacity of 100.000 Ltres.

Ncn’ean (pronounced Nook-knee-anne), is an abbreviation of Neachneohain, the name of a witch-queen in Scots Gaelic folklore who, according to Sir Walter Scott, ‘rode on the storm and marshalled the rambling host of wanderers under her grim banner’. Much like its namesake, Ncn’ean distillery on Scotland’s Morvern peninsula, is very much a leader in its protection of its natural environment, and intentions to operate at the forefront of innovation.

Ncn’ean has been designed as the first fully organic modern distillery in Scotland powered by 100% renewable energy. Wood chips for the biomass boiler are sourced from a local forest, while all by-products are recycled as animal and plant feed on the remote estate on which it lies.

The farm distillery was designed by the late distilling consultant Jim Swan to produce a light, fruity and estery spirit, a character intensified by slow mashes, long fermentations, horizontal lyne arms and shell and tube condensers, with a high, narrow spirit cut.

Experimentation comes in the form of varying yeast strains not usually adopted by distillers, while the wood programme will be focused predominantly on ex-Bourbon and red wine cask maturation, with a small Sherry influence. Two dunnage warehouses, located on the hill behind the distillery, feature temperature regulators to allow Ncn’ean greater control over the flavour generated in cask over time.

The idea to build a distillery on the grounds of the historic Drimnin Estate came to the Lewis family in 2012, some 10 years after they bought and set about restoring the neglected property. The estate itself had once been Maclean clan territory, and formed part of the Drimnin Castle grounds, but was sold by a bankrupt Charles Maclean in the late 18th century. Following a succession of owners and misfortunes – Drimnin House itself burned down in 1849, its owners meeting unrelated yet tragic and untimely deaths – the estate was rebuilt and eventually restored into holiday lets, a cattle farm and conservation area.

By 2013 the Lewis family’s plans to build a distillery in the historic farm buildings adjacent to Drimnin House were well underway, with daughter Annabel Thomas leaving a job in London to manage the project personally as CEO of the newly established Drimnin Distillery Ltd. Following two investment rounds, which included a government grant, the project was finally completed in March 2017.

While Drimnin distillery became the working title for the project, the family and its private investors were keen to separate the business from the rest of the estate. At the start of 2017 the new name Ncn’ean was chosen – Drimnin Distillery Ltd will soon also be renamed Ncn’ean Distillery Ltd – and on 21 March the first spirit was filled into cask. The distillery officially opened to visitors in July.

The first whisky to be released by Ncn’ean distillery is expected in 2020, although a limited number of individual casks are made available to purchase annually.

CAPACITY (MLPA) i

100.000 Ltrs

CONDENSER TYPE i

Multi-pass shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

66-114 hours

FILLING STRENGTH i

63.3%

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam from a biomass boiler

MALT SPECIFICATION i

Organic, Scottish, unpeated

MALT SUPPLIER i

Muntons from five organic farms

MASH TUN TYPE i

Semi-lauter

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

71-72%

SINGLE MALT PERCENTAGE i

100%

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Lantern

SPIRIT STILL SIZE (L) i

3,500

STILLS i

WAREHOUSING i

Dunnage on site

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Lantern

WASH STILL SIZE (L) i

5,000

WASHBACK CHARGE (L) i

5,000

WASHBACK SIZE (L) i

6,650

WASHBACK TYPE i

Stainless steel

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Local spring

WORT CLARITY i

High clarity

YEAST TYPE i

Varies, includes Fermentis and

Anchor distillers yeast

Drimnin Distillery Company

NCN'EANNcn'ean

DISTILLERY

One of the new wave of Scottish farm distilleries designed by the late Jim Swan, which is set up to produce a light, fruity and organic single malt spirit.

NCN'EAN DISTILLERY

HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

The first whisky to be released by Ncn’ean distillery is expected in 2020, although a limited number of individual casks are made available to purchase annually.

ANNABEL THOMAS, NCN’EAN

March 2019

Ncn’ean founder Annabel Thomas chose Scotland’s west coast to open a 100% organic distillery in 2017. Here she tells Kirsten Amor Ncn’ean’s sustainability struggles, potential growth for botanic spirits, and why the timing is right for yeast experimentation.

Ncn'ean founder Annabel Thomas at her distillery

Career change: Thomas started Ncn’ean distillery on the family farm in Drimnin

‘The original idea for Ncn’ean came from two places: one, that I love whisky and I always had a connection with Scotland through my family. But I also felt like there was an opportunity to do Scotch more sustainably and more creatively, and that was what I wanted to achieve.

‘When we first started building the distillery we found loads of obstacles [on our journey] towards sustainability, and we’re still encountering them. The thing I realised is that it is definitely a “journey” rather than an “end goal”.

‘Most of the energy we use in the distillery comes from our biomass boiler, which we wanted to use as we have a source of timber literally right next to the distillery, and we wouldn’t then carry any road miles in getting fuel to us. It took us a long time to get the set-up of the boiler right for distilling; they prefer to operate continuously, whereas we only have one distillation shift a day. We spent a total of nine months tweaking it to get it working as we wanted, which was unexpected.

‘Sourcing organic Scottish barley was more difficult than I expected – there’s actually not that much of it. Not only do you have to find the barley, but you also have to find a maltster who is certified to process it.

‘There’s also all the smaller things we’re now working on, like trying to find more sustainable cleaning products for the distillery. Most people use caustic soda, which is not good in many ways, so we’ve been working hard to find an alternative to that. We’re making sound progress, but it’s not easy.

Sustainably fuelled: Ncn’ean uses woodchips from a nearby timber forest for fuel

‘Ncn’ean botanical spirit was the outcome of lots of different developments we did with our new make spirit. We’re in this beautiful part of remote, wild Scotland, and we have fantastic plants growing all around us.

‘There aren’t many distilleries in Scotland that are working on botanical spirits, but I hope more do. With ours for example, we hope that it’s drunk more like a gin, with a tonic. We also hope that it opens people’s eyes to drinking whisky in a different way.

‘The botanic spirit category is obviously very small at the moment, and the vast majority of the public still don’t know what it is. I hope at the most basic level it will grow. It’s interesting because people understand gin, and maybe this category will give them something more original to drink.

‘It’s too early to start educating people on these spirits, however. The category is still being designed by those that work in it and needs to develop further before we can say to a consumer “this is a botanical spirit”. That’s a challenge that we in the industry will have to face, because consumers will start asking questions and wanting to know the difference between them.

Ncn’ean distillery is located in a remote corner of Scotland’s west coast

‘The biggest surprise for me in the industry as a whole, not having any particular background in whisky myself, is the yeast side. I’ve always been interested in all different types of alcohol, and knowing how passionately brewers feel about their yeast, I was surprised at how little interest there was from the distilling industry overall – particularly at the bigger distilleries. A lot of them use the same yeast in all of their whiskies, and the same strains as each other.

‘Traditionally distillers have approached experimentation through the cask and maturation side of operations, but now that those have been “done”, people are now looking at the underlying spirit. Yeast is such an important part, I can’t help but think we’ll see more and more creativity in this area.

‘Some people have described Ncn’ean as the most remote distillery in Scotland. Unlike other distilleries that are in more touristy areas, we don’t have as many visitors. The plan was never on having a huge chunk of revenue from tours. We are very small and intimate – we have a maximum of 30 visitors a day, which is tiny when compared to others that receive millions a year.

‘The people that come love it, because they get a very personal experience and they get to meet the whole team – they appreciate the “behind the scenes” view.

‘What we have been trying to develop with our whisky is something that enables the underlying spirit to shine through. We put in so much effort to ensure our new make spirit is as delicious as possible, and then the casks just provide extra flavour and maturation, and bring it all together.

‘I want Scotch whisky to be seen as less snobbish, more democratic. We don’t suggest Ncn’ean whisky to be only drunk neat – personally I love whisky in a Highball, and that is one of the things we will suggest as a serving when it comes out next year. We’ve designed it to be unpeated and fruity. If we can persuade people to drink more creatively then we will feel like we have succeeded.

‘Hearing people’s feedback on our work and their support for what we’re trying to do in the industry, particularly with sustainability and being organic, has been amazing. Having those conversations and comments will stick with me for a very long time.’

FIRST FULLY ORGANIC SCOTCH DISTILLERY OPENS

June 2017

Scotland’s ‘first’ 100% organic single malt Scotch whisky distillery has opened on a remote farm estate in the Highlands.

Youthful appearance: Ncn’ean will aim to produce a ‘young, light’ style of spirit

Ncn’ean distillery (pronounced Nook-knee-anne), began producing spirit in March, but will start welcoming visitors to the distillery from July.

Its name is an abbreviation of Neachneohain, a witch-queen in Scots Gaelic folklore who was also referred to as ‘Queen of the Spirits’.

Situated in renovated farm buildings on the remote, historic Drimnin Estate near Oban and Fort William, Ncn’ean – formerly known under its working title of Drimnin distillery – will produce just under 100,000 litres of pure alcohol each year.

Ncn’ean is thought to be the first fully organic Scottish distillery, sourcing only organic barley and local spring water to make its single malt spirit.

It is also one of the greenest distilleries in the country, sourcing all its energy from renewable sources and recycling by-products from the process as cattle feed on the estate’s farm.

The style of single malt whisky produced at Ncn’ean will be light and fruity, with maturation taking place predominantly in ex-Bourbon and red wine casks.

Some experimentation will also take place using alternative yeast strains and temperature regulators in its on-site dunnage warehouses – methods developed for the distillery in collaboration with the late whisky consultant Dr Jim Swan, whose other projects included Kilchoman and the soon-to-open Lindores Abbey.

The distillery is the brainchild of Annabel Thomas, whose parents Derek and Louise Lewis bought Drimnin Estate in 2002.

Thomas, a former strategy consultant in the City of London, was considering her future over a cocktail in 2012 when the idea to build Ncn’ean at her family’s estate came to her.

She said: ‘I always loved Scotch and I felt we had something new to bring to the conversation, but there was also a local drive to what we wanted to do.

‘Drimnin is a very tiny place with not many businesses, so therefore not very much employment. Being able to provide a sustainable business with jobs in an area that otherwise doesn’t have many was always part of the motivation.’

Ncn’ean has employed a team of three distillers, lead by distillery manager Gordon Wood, formerly at nearby Oban distillery. Joining him are distillers Lorna Davidson and Reay Whyte.

Dr Swan had acted as consultant master distiller on the project before his death in March this year.

‘Jim came to Ncn’ean two weeks before he died, and we’d gone through the whole recipe together,’ Thomas said. ‘He was due to come back the week we filled our first barrel, but he never made it.’

Dr Swan worked with Thomas and the Ncn’ean team, which includes managing director Benet Slay, formerly head of Carlsberg UK, to design the distillery and its spirit.

‘There are a couple of things which we are really passionate about,’ Thomas said.

‘One is the environment, and doing things right by nature. We also want to play around with how we make the whisky.

‘We’re going for a relatively young, light style of spirit as a basis, but we have a number of ideas up our sleeve, some of which will be within the realms of Scotch as defined by the SWA, and others will be outside it.

‘We’re young and independent and this gives us the freedom to experiment. We’re exploring new taste profiles every month, seeing what a small-batch craft whisky can deliver.’

Ncn’ean expects to release its first single malt whisky in 2020, when the spirit is three years old. In the meantime, the distillery is offering the opportunity to purchase one of its first barrels at £3,000 for an ex-Bourbon cask, and £3,900 for an ex-wine cask.

The distillery will welcome visitors on a pre-booked basis Monday to Friday, and hopes to establish a multidistillery tour in collaboration with nearby Tobermory, Oban and Ardnamurchan distilleries.

UNINHIBITED BY TRADITION

Annabel started Nc’nean to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland. Her mission was to create a whisky which could exist in harmony with this planet we call home. After leaving her job in London in 2013, she spent four years raising funds and building the distillery from the ground up on the west coast of Scotland. We’ve been distilling since 2017 and we’ve just launched our first ever whisky. We hope you love it as much as we do

PIONEERING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

Sustainability runs in our veins. We believe it is our responsibility to constantly improve our impact on this earth in terms of carbon footprint, pollution and biodiversity. We use organic Scottish barley in a distillery powered by renewable energy and recycle 99.97% of our waste. We plan to bottle our whisky in a 100% recycled clear glass bottle (a first in Scotch whisky, we think). Find out more about sustainability and how it drives us here.

EXPERIMENTAL IN NATURE

A philosophy, a way of looking at the world, a curiosity, a willingness to try. Out of this approach, our first two products were born - our Botanical Spirit and our even more adventurous Aged Botanical. Simply asking ‘why’ or ‘what if’ was also the start of our yeast experiments at the distillery: the realisation that most distilleries in Scotland use the same yeast because it produces the highest yield of alcohol

WALK YOUR OWN PATH

The inspiration for our name, Neachneohain, was an ancient Gaelic goddess. She was known as the Queen of Spirits and a fierce protector of nature. Strong and independent, she was never afraid to walk her own path. We try to follow her ethos in everything we do.

NC’ NEAN

ORGANIC

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Made by Nature not by Rules

46 %

Batch 03

5.040 Bottles

I started NC’NEAN to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland

My Mission was to create a whisky which could exist in Harmonylicious however you drink it, but especially with this planet

we call home. Since 2017, we’ve been distilling whisky with Organic Scottish Barley,

using 100% Renewable Enery.

Smooth and Elegant, our whisky is easy going and delicious however you drink it, but

especially good with soda i find i can taste citrus, peach, apricot and spice

I hope you can love it as much as we do.

Annabelx

Say it: NC-NEE-AN,

Drink it: As you like.

Our Favourite: Whisky with Six 2 parts NC NEAN, 4 parts soda over Ice with mint sprig

Small Batch Whisky

Organic Scotish Barley

100 % Reneable Energy

100 % Recycled Bottle

Non Chill Filtered

NCNEAN, Drimming, Oban, Scotland

NC’ NEAN

ORGANIC

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Made by Nature not by Rules

46 %

Batch 04

5.040 Bottles

I started NC’NEAN to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland

My Mission was to create a whisky which could exist in Harmonylicious however you drink it, but especially with this planet

we call home. Since 2017, we’ve been distilling whisky with Organic Scottish Barley,

using 100% Renewable Enery.

Smooth and Elegant, our whisky is easy going and delicious however you drink it, but

especially good with soda i find i can taste citrus, peach, apricot and spice

I hope you can loe it as much as we do.

Annabelx

Say it: NC-NEE-AN,

Drink it: As you like.

Our Favourite: Whisky with Six 2 parts NC NEAN, 4 parts soda over Ice with mint sprig

Small Batch Whisky

Organic Scotish Barley

100 % Reneable Energy

100 % Recycled Bottle

Non Chill Filtered

NCNEAN, Drimming, Oban, Scotland

NC’ NEAN

ORGANIC

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

Made by Nature not by Rules

46 %

Batch 05

5.040 Bottles

I started NC’NEAN to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland

My Mission was to create a whisky which could exist in Harmonylicious however you drink it, but especially with this planet

we call home. Since 2017, we’ve been distilling whisky with Organic Scottish Barley,

using 100% Renewable Enery.

Smooth and Elegant, our whisky is easy going and delicious however you drink it, but

especially good with soda i find i can taste citrus, peach, apricot and spice

I hope you can loe it as much as we do.

Annabelx

Say it: NC-NEE-AN,

Drink it: As you like.

Our Favourite: Whisky with Six 2 parts NC NEAN, 4 parts soda over Ice with mint sprig

Small Batch Whisky

Organic Scotish Barley

100 % Reneable Energy

100 % Recycled Bottle

Non Chill Filtered

NCNEAN, Drimming, Oban, Scotland

Beautifully situatedon the Drimnin Estate on Morvern Peninsula the distilleri has a astouning vieuw tpwards Mull. The Estate was bought by Derek and Louise

Lewis in 2001 and their daughter Annabel Thomasis the founder of the distillery.

One of the fundamentals when it was build was to make it as sustainable as possible.The boiler fired by wood chips was bought in from Germany. The

ashes from the boiler isused to fertllise the distillery garden> The Barley is Scottish and certified Organic and the waste heat is recycled through the

temperature controlled warehouse.

The distillery came on stream in March 2017 and is equipped with a one ton semi lauter mash tun. Trials with different types of yeast champagne

red wine etc to create fifferent flavour profiles is part of the work. There are four stainless steel wash backs and the fermentation time is between

65 and 115 hours.

There is a 5000 ltre wash still and a 3500 ltre spirit still, but with slightly descending lyne arms and sub coolers. The owner isorking on two basic

recipes of fruity whisky, "new Style"to be enjoyed young and öld Style" with lower cut points and destined for a longer maturation.

The plan for 2020 is to do five mashes per weekand 94000 litres of pure alcohol

A botanical spirit including wild herbs and flowers foraged from the surroundings of the distillery was launched in autumn 2018.

The first single malt Ainnir matured in red wine and American Bourbon barrels was released in September 2020. In March 2020 a funding of more

than 1.9 million pound was secured to help with the continued growth as well as buying bottling equipment

Annabel Thomas, founder of modern farm distillery Ncn’ean, has found a creative use for her new make. ‘Historically there has been a perception in the industry that it’s a bit worthless unless you put it in a cask,’ she says.

‘I feel that is a shame, because if you put enough care and effort into it, you can create something really special. We decided to make the botanical spirit because we had so many compliments on our new make.’

Launched in 2018, Ncn’ean botanical spirit is a re-distillation of the distillery’s own pot still spirit with juniper, coriander, grapefruit and locally-sourced herbs. Though it makes a natural pairing with tonic water, this creation is legally distinct from gin because it isn’t based on neutral alcohol.

However, such botanical spirits are not just a novel alternative to gin. Lindores Abbey in Fife also produces a botanical aqua vitae, which it describes as being part of a local distilling tradition that stretches back to the 15th century.

Long before the emergence of what we now call whisky, there was usquebaugh, an early example of Scottish distilling made by flavouring alcohol with herbs and spices. This ancestral spirit was made in pot stills on a small scale, for medicinal and recreational purposes

QUEEN OF SPIRITS

Our name is an abbreviation of Neachneohain, known as the Queen of Spirits in Gaelic legend, and our guiding star. She was a huntress, a fierce protector of nature and never afraid to walk her own path. We try to follow this ethos in everything we do.

OUR HOME: THE MORVERN PENINSULA

The distillery is located on the beautiful and wild Drimnin Estate which offers long stretches of coastline, well sign-posted walks and plenty of wildlife spotting opportunities (including White Tailed and Golden Eagles, Scottish Wildcat, Pine Martens and Otters). More details about the estate and accommodation options, including a bed and breakfast, are available on the estate website.

Just 12 miles down the road, Lochaline is the main village on the Morvern peninsula. It is served by a regular ferry service to Mull and

EXPERIMENTAL IN NATURE

Protectors of nature, net zero distillers

We are extremely lucky to be located in an area of the world which has outstanding natural beauty, and this gives us the everyday motivation to preserve and enhance the land we inhabit. But if that is the carrot, the stick is the climate crisis, and we believe it is incumbent on every business, however large or small, to measure and reduce their impact as quickly as possible.

And since we see this as our biggest responsibility, we have spent the last year measuring our first ever carbon footprint. We are super chuffed to announce that we are now officially certified as net zero for whisky production. It's been a long old journey from building our renewably powered distillery, to bottling our first whisky in recycled glass, to collecting all our data on emissions and beyond - but one that is so important not only for us, but for the wider world of spirits. We've included a bit more detail on our net zero achievements below, but for our full sustainability report, click here.

To celebrate our news, we are giving you 15% off all orders on our website this week. Just click here to shop now with the code ZERO15. Offer ends Sunday 11:59pm.

Introducing Aon, our first single cask bottling

Ahead of our first seasonal release in October, we bring a new series of whiskies into the world, Aon. Aon means one in Gaelic and will be our collection of single cask releases. Each cask will be hand-picked because it is delicious, unique and unrepeatable. For those of you in the UK, our first is an exclusive with Selfridges and brings together our shared values of innovation and sustainability, plus our joint love of delicious whisky! Matured in a first fill ex-bourbon cask before moving to a first fill ex-tequila cask, Aon 17-329 is bright and wild with notes of toasted vanilla, juicy peaches and bittersweet tea. Our use of tequila barrels is particularly exciting, since we are the first Single Malt Scotch Whisky to be bottled from an ex-tequila cask! There are only 289 bottles to go around, many of which will be available online shortly, but to get your hands on a bottle right away head into Selfridges stores in either London, Manchester or Birmingham. We will update our instagram, twitter and facebook channels as soon as bottles are available from the Selfridges website.

An even bigger announcement...

Along with our first single cask release, we have even bigger news! We are excited to be bringing you our first seasonal release on the 23rd of October in the UK, with bottles reaching Europe a little bit later. We will be releasing 4504 bottles of some of our early cask experiments which have been chosen by our very own Queen of Spirits, Annabel. As our nearest and dearest you will receive priority access 12 hours prior to the general public, on the 22nd of October. We will be letting you know more information nearer the time.

A win for our whisky

We are excited to announce that we've won our first ever Great Taste Award. The judges have been sipping away on all sorts of spirits over the last few months, and we are pleased to say that they awarded us a gold star. Comments from the judges included 'lovely pear drop nose', 'sweet clean single malt' and 'a rich but elegant malt with a hint of spice'.

We are hiring!

Fancy joining our small team of intrepid adventurers in the western highlands of Scotland? We're on the lookout for a Highlands and Islands based Operations Executive to help make our supply chain run like clockwork. Please note there are a few key criteria - to fit the bill you must be a recent graduate and based in the Highlands and Islands. If it sounds like your dream role or you know anyone who would be interested, click here to see the full job spec and for how to apply.

With love from Team Nc'nean x

Aon news

Hello everyone, we are here with an announcement about Aon 17-329, the Selfridges exclusive single cask release. After a couple of days of trying to get the allocated bottles for online sales up on their website, Selfridges are still experiencing a technical issue. This means that the bottles will not be going online this weekend. We are extremely sorry about this – we want nothing more than all our UK friends to be able to have a fair chance at accessing these small releases.

Half of the allocated online bottles are being shipped to the London store for telephone only orders. Please call 0207 318 2375 to place an order at 10am tomorrow morning (Saturday 2nd Oct) when they open. Once the bottles are sold out there will be a waiting list for the other half of the bottles if the online issue persists. Please note Selfridges will be limiting purchases to one bottle per order and the bottles can only be delivered to the UK. Once again we apologise to any faithful fan who didn’t manage to get their hands on a bottle.

The good news is that we have our first seasonal release coming up in a couple of weeks which will be larger and more widely available, and of course available to purchase from our own website. Since you are signed up to this newsletter you will be getting priority access to these bottles.

Aon 17-329 is also the first of many single cask releases that we plan to release, so there should be plenty more to go around in future both in the UK and across Europe. To those of you who managed to get your hands on a bottle, we really hope you love the spirit as much as we do.

Say hello to Quiet Rebels

Later this week, we are excited to be launching our brand new series of whiskies, Quiet Rebels. This series is all about the people who make Nc’nean what it is, about our small team of eco-conscious drinks fanatics on a mission to bring together a new generation of Scotch drinkers. Annabel will be kicking things off with her very own selection of some of our early cask experiments. We will be sending you more info on Friday, but it is a small release and is a different cask profile to our core expression, and it will be priced at £65.95 a bottle.

What you need to know ahead of Friday

There will be 4504 bottles of new and delicious whisky to go around and these are being divided up between our own website, UK retailers (both online and in store), the distillery shop and our European partners. As our closest friends, you will be receiving exclusive access ahead of the general public, so please listen up for more details.

If you are based in the UK and signed up to this newsletter you will be able to shop via your unique link which we will be sending out at to you at 5pm on Friday 22nd of October. Bottles of this release will be restricted to one per person, though you will be able to add other items to your basket.

If you are based in the UK and miss out on the allocation on Friday evening, a small portion of the bottles will be reserved for the general public launch on our website on Saturday 23rd October at 9am.

If you miss out on both of these opportunities, we will be sharing a list of retail partners in the email on Friday at 5pm. There will also be some bottles available at the distillery for locals, so do pop by and pick up a bottle. Please only use this option if you live locally.

If you are based in either Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium or Italy, there will opportunities for you to be able to buy a bottle through bricks and mortar stores and online. In Germany, we will be launching on the 2nd of November with our other European partners following a couple of weeks later.

Going for (double) gold!

Making whisky in the most sustainable way possible is our bread and butter, but what would be the point without making spirits which taste delicious too. We are spirit nuts, and that's why we're super chuffed to announce that our Organic Single Malt has won a double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition - one of the most prestigious drinks competitions in the world!

Our prices are going up

If you buy directly from our website, we have some news for you. It goes without saying that the world has been rather unsteady over the last few years. Lockdowns, fuel prices and the transport crisis all contributing to a drastic increase in both material and transport costs. Our packaging costs alone have increased by 15% and will continue to go up over the next 12 months. We've spent the last year absorbing these costs ourselves, but the time has come to put the prices of our spirits up.

We know this isn't the news you had hoped for, so we have made some other improvements on our website. Firstly, from tomorrow we will remove all shipping costs, making shipping free across the board. Additionally, from Thursday we will be rewarding you for buying more - £5 off every bottle of spirits you add to your basket when you buy more than one bottle. Please note this offer does not apply to the 'Taste of Nc'nean' sample pack. From midday on Thursday 5th of May our website pricing will be as follows:

Single Malt Scotch Whisky (with gift box): £59.95

Single Malt Scotch Whisky (without gift box): £56.95

Botanical Spirit: £37.50

Aged Botanical Spirit Set: £54.95

Taste of Nc'nean Sample Pack: £20.95

Our European journey

Excitingly we are now available in 11 European countries outside of the UK! We know that plenty of you are following from further afield, so we are here with an update for where you can pick up our spirits across Europe. You can now buy our products in Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Click the links above to shop on line in your respective country.

Walk on the wild side

Our second foraging and cocktail day is taking place on the 10th of June. In collaboration with forager and medical herbalist Clare Holahan (West Highland Herbal), we will host 10 guests for a day of foraging, wild cocktail making and learning about the most intricate parts of our distillery. For more details on pricing, where to stay, and how to book click here.

We hope you love the new whisky as much as we do!

With love from Team Nc'nean x

The next evolution of our single malt

We are here with some exciting news.

Since we began filling casks in 2017, we’ve been quietly putting aside a small amount of our organic spirit for maturation in Oloroso Sherry Butts. These large casks take a little longer to develop than our usual choice of casks, but once mature, they produce a powerful fruity, rich and intense whisky. We’ve been watching their progress carefully, and they are finally at the stage we feel we can incorporate them into our single malt.

So it is time for the next evolution of Nc’nean’s single malt. After much testing and tasting (it’s a hard life), our future batches of single malt will be a slightly different combination of casks: a little less STR red wine (55%), a little more ex-American Whiskey (43%) and the addition of 2% from Oloroso Sherry Butts. The result showcases all the creamy, citrusy, fruity flavours of Nc’nean, with a touch more fullness and depth. A small change that makes all the difference in your glass.

To mark this recipe change, we have changed the names of our batches from the linear numerical system to a unique coded system, so you can still read about how each batch is made on the batch page of our website. Keeping batch codes on our bottles is really important to us. Transparency is key, and we believe that everyone should be able to understand everything that’s gone into making our whisky.

April 2023

Our new Huntress release: Woodland Candy

It's not long until we can share the eagerly anticipated second release in our spring series with you. Our Huntress series is all about the ethos of discovery, about our ongoing pursuit of new flavours in whisky making. The innovative and intriguing 2023 bottling, Woodland Candy, encompasses all of this - it's bold and creamy with flavours of buttery toffee, forest fruits and a touch of herbal spice.

It'll be the first time we launch a whisky which features a special four yeast recipe - the introduction of red and white wine yeasts brings a riot of flavour and aroma, reminiscent of our home here on the wild and magical west coast of Scotland.

What you need to know

This delicious new bottling, nestled in its dusk like 90% recycled card gift tube, will be launching on Friday 21st April, with our UK based nearest and dearest getting early access from Thursday 20th April at 10am. Don't fret, we will send you an email on the day with a unique link letting you know how to shop. For those of you outside of the UK, bottles will be live in stores and with online retailers in Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and Poland from the 21st.

And once you've got your bottle, please join us on our first live online tasting to celebrate Woodland Candy's release on the 2nd of May at 7pm (UK time). Join our founder Annabel and our blender Matt as they take us through the journey to creating the unique four yeast recipe. Click here for the YouTube link and click 'Notify' to be reminded of the start time as we go live.

Kabn: off-grid eco retreats on the shores of Loch Fyne

We've paired up with Kabn, a truly environmentally friendly solution to your luxury self-catered Scottish holiday. Little bottles of our organic whisky greet each guest staying in these boutique retreats in nature. Located on the shores of Loch Fyne they are the perfect escape from the distractions of everyday life. Bespoke, architecturally designed, solar powered off grid cabins featuring floor to ceiling glass, sustainably sourced timber and a minimalist interior. Kabn's cabins have been architecturally designed to immerse guests in the natural surroundings, whilst maintaining privacy, seclusion and tranquillity. Even the luxury bed linen is organic and Fairtrade certified. Click here to find out more and book your stay now.

£88.95 GBP

HUNTRESS 2022

Introducing our eagerly anticipated second release from our spring series of whiskies, Huntress. This series is all about the ethos of discovery. About innovation and our ongoing pursuit of delicious flavours in whisky making.

This 2023 release, Woodland Candy, is our most intriguing and innovative yet. It's bold and creamy - flavours of buttery toffee, forest fruits and a touch of herbal spice. It’s the first time we’ve launched a whisky which features a special four yeast recipe. The introduction of red and white wine yeasts add a riot of flavour and aroma - flavours which will transport you to the ancient mossy woodlands of our home here on the wild west coast of Scotland.

4556 bottles / 48.5% abv / 70cl / Certified organic

Natural colour / Non-chill filtered.

Discount codes not valid on seasonal releases.