Water, yeast and barley
Organic Whisky Scotland
Organic whisky
We are on our way to the Nc’nean whisky distillery in the village of Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. We have a trip of some 600 kilometres ahead of us, since the Nc’nean distillery lies at a remote spot at the far tip of the peninsula. It’s raining cats and dogs, and fog hangs over the mountains.
Driving along the narrow mountain roads through the Scottish landscape, we start to develop an irresistible longing to nestle by the fire in a typical Scottish pub with a glass of whisky. Ahead of us, the Scottish landscape, the eternal rain, the ruins of castles, wild men with shaggy beards wearing tartan kilts, the sound of bagpipes and the smell of burning peat all perfectly fit the mood in which we find ourselves.
When our navigation indicates that we have only three kilometres to go, we stop to take a photograph, an image that our romantic ideas suggest would be appropriate for the label of a single malt. Driving across the estate of the Nc’nean distillery a few minutes later, our romantic dreams fall to pieces like a rotten whisky vat. The Nc’nean distillery has nothing at all in common with the image we have of it. No vaulted cellars with stacks of wooden barrels and oil paintings of a Laird who has been in charge of the estate for centuries.
"Sustainability runs in our veins. We believe it’s our responsibility to constantly improve our impact on this earth in terms of carbon footprint, pollution and biodiversity."
Amy Stammers
Nc'nean Distillery
Annabel Thomas started Nc’nean in order to change the way the world thinks about Scottish whisky. Her mission was to create a whisky that could exist in harmony with the planet. After giving up her job in London in 2013, she spent four years fundraising and building the distillery on the west coast of Scotland from scratch.
In 2017 it began distilling its own organic whisky and in 2020 the first bottle was born. An organic single malt that makes a great impression with the smallest of footprints.
“B Corp certified, we use only organic Scottish barley in our distillery, which is powered purely by renewable energy. We bottle our whisky in a 100% recycled clear glass bottle (a first for Scotch whisky, we think), and we divert 99.97% of our waste from landfill. As of 2021 we became the first whisky distillery in the UK to be verified as having net zero carbon emissions for scopes 1 and 2.
“Our distillery production footprint is naturally very small because we use 100% renewable energy. Our two copper pot stills are powered solely by our biomass boiler, using wood chips from the local forest; all the trees that are harvested are replanted. We source a very small amount of low-carbon electricity from our green energy partners.
“The inspiration for our name, Neachneohain, is an ancient Gaelic goddess. Known as the Queen of Spirits, she was 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.”
The Nc’nean is an ultramodern distillery, where a small team of environmentally aware drink fanatics is on a mission to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland. We are greeted by Amy Stammers, head of sustainability, one of the twenty one “quiet rebels” who run the Nc’nean distillery.
Uninhibited by Tradition
After coffee and a tour of the distillery, we ask Amy to tell her story. She does so in between rain showers at a place on the large estate that once served as a farmhouse and farmyard. We can’t film in one of the buildings because the wood that keeps the huge wood-fired boiler going is being chipped today. Vast tree trunks disappear one by one into the woodchipper, a process involving a great deal of force and an immense racket.
On the estate we pass a large reservoir where rainwater is collected. This might well be the first “rain-fed distillery” in the world. The area is too wet for organically grown barley; it simply gets too much rain. So the barley comes from a farm run by the Polson family in the north-east of Scotland, which we will visit next. When we have finished filming Amy’s story it’s time to taste the whisky. We’re not connoisseurs, but we are enthusiasts. This whisky is smooth and elegant, easy-going and delicious – and it doesn’t cost the earth.
"Just think that each nice day may be the last dry day of the season."
We set out from the Nc’nean distillery on the west coast of Scotland to visit the Polsons’ farm in the north-east of the country. It’s a trip of 400 kilometres that takes us through the Scottish Highlands. It’s cold, it rains continually and the sky is black; the Scottish landscape is showing itself at its best. The Knock Farm is a family farm of 540 hectares in Huntly, due east of Inverness. It’s here that Roger Polson grows organic barley for the Nc’nean distillery.
When we are an hour from arrival we receive an app asking whether we’d like to join the family for a dinner of “venison curry”. We send our thanks for the invitation and say that we’ll arrive at about six o’clock. As we drive up to the farmhouse we’re welcomed by Roger and the dogs.
Finally sun
Now it is the wind that played tricks on us and that’s the reason we don’t have Roger’s story on film What was expected to be a story about sustainable barley for the whisky became a story about generations.
On arrival we’re introduced to Beth, who has her youngest grandson on her lap, a bouncing baby, seven months old. Roger pours us a glass of wine. After the obligatory chat about the weather, Roger comes up with a memorable quote: “Just think that each nice day may be the last dry day of the season” That sums up the Scottish climate, after which the conversation soon switches to the subject of the generations to be found here.
There must be at least three. Beth tells us that the farm belongs to her parents, that she was born in this house and that their daughter Nicky and her husband Tom Mutter are going to take over the business. At that point they will have to move out of the house. When she then also starts telling us that her other daughter Mhairi and son-in-law Dave, the parents of her youngest grandchild Finlay, are moving to Australia, her eyes fill with tears. It’s certainly a lot of change all at once. Roger pours us another glass of wine and gradually the family trickles in.
We sit at the table with Roger and Beth, Alex the oldest daughter, her husband Craig, their children Millie and Callum, Mhairi who has made the venison curry, and Nicky and Tom. We eat in the big kitchen-dining room at about eight. After the glasses have been filled, the venison curry ragout is taken out of the AGA. The wine is left over from Nicky and Tom’s wedding. They were married here at the farm last week.
A shift of generations
At the table the conversation soon turns to agriculture, climate, biodiversity, nature, organic farming as opposed to conventional farming, nature conservation and animal husbandry. Tom has studied agronomy and is a farming adviser, giving advice to farming enterprises, most of them conventional farms. Not because he advocates using as many chemicals as possible but simply because that’s the usual approach of most of the farmers in the area.
Soon, when he takes over the farm, he’ll have to stick to the organic farming methods practised here by Roger and Beth for the past forty years. Roger, who doesn’t want to rule from beyond the grave, has come to an agreement that for the next five years nothing can change in the way the land is farmed, and then after that it’s up to Tom and Nicky how they run the business. Roger hopes that by the time those five years have passed they too will want to continue with his sustainable farming methods.
The venison curry is delicious and it’s a beautiful evening. It’s great to sit with this family on such an evening. After the meal we say goodnight. The next day, after coffee, Roger will give us a tour of the farm and tell us his story.
"I see myself more as a land manager than as a farmer."
Roger Polson
Knock Farm
We drive with Roger across the large estate. The land rises from 400 feet to some 1400 feet. There are beef cattle and sheep, carrots are grown on a grand scale and of course there’s the barley that he supplies to the Nc’nean distillery. He is proud to be able to make a contribution to the basic principles of the Nc’nean distillery. It gives him hope that people like those at Nc’nean are willing to stick their necks out and make a radical choice for sustainability.
Roger explains that a large part of his farm is really only nature. He sees himself more as a land manager than as a farmer. Yes, he could grow more crops and achieve higher yields, but he’d have to work harder for longer hours, and it would be at the expense of the ecological value of his land. He finds all the new trends in agriculture, such as regenerative farming, problematic. “Here on this land nothing has ever been done wrong. If you maintain biodiversity and ensure that you keep the soil healthy, then you don’t need to regenerate anything.”
"Organic farming means nothing other than avoiding problems and infestations by stimulating the health of the soil and the plants, instead of importing problems and then treating them with pesticides and herbicides."
As well as cows, sheep and crops, there is commercial timber production and horses for recreation. The estate is open to the public and Roger likes seeing walkers enjoying the natural landscape and the land that he, like Beth’s parents, has so carefully preserved just the way it is. This is not his land; it belongs to everyone, now and, he hopes, forever.
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