Annabel Thomas is the founder of Nc’nean Distillery, Scotland’s first organic and sustainable whiskey distillery. Now the former London finance manager wants to transform the entire Scotch industry.
When Annabel Thomas retired to the Scottish Highlands a few years ago, she desperately needed a break. For years, the finance manager had given everything for her job and her career; Compared to her industry, which attracts notorious workaholics, her parents’ adopted home in the far north was the greatest possible contrast. Here she could breathe deeply: no meetings, no emails, no appointments, instead rough seas, clear air and on the horizon the barren but idyllic shores of the island of Mull.Thomas’ parents had settled on the Drimnin Estate, an old farm on the Morvern peninsula on the remote west coast of Scotland — a place perfect for fulfilling the Highland longings held by so many people around the world. The only thing missing from the perfect Scottish idyll was a whiskey distillery; Thomas and her father thought so too.“I wanted to get into the whiskey business, but I wanted to create something completely new,” says Thomas in an interview with Forbes. The Scottish national drink thrives on tradition — many lovers believe that real Scotch must taste of peat and nostalgia. “Of course the heritage around Scotch whiskey is very important,” says Thomas, “but no one seemed brave enough to shake up the industry. It was time for disruption.”A little more than ten years after the company was founded, it turns out that Annabel Thomas’ courage has paid off. Her distillery Nc’nean (pronounced “Nich-nien”) is now shaking up the entire industry. The 40-year-old founder created the first 100% climate-neutral distillery, and with it the first organic scotch. What initially turned out to be complicated, expensive and time-consuming is now a competitive advantage — and the best selling argument at a time when customers are paying attention to sustainability and environmental awareness in all areas of life.
The name Nc’nean is derived from Neachneohain, a pagan goddess, the patroness of nature in Gaelic folklore. Just a few days before our conversation, Thomas had celebrated the launch of her whiskey in the USA: After the European market, she is now also exporting to California. “The USA, even more than Europe, is very interested in brands and products that represent diversity,” says Thomas. Here too, Nc’nean stands out — Annabel Thomas is one of the few women and entrepreneurs in a traditionally male-dominated industry.Scotch whiskey is one of the UK’s most important industries. Every second, 53 bottles of whiskey are shipped from Scotland to around 180 markets worldwide. The entire industry is worth more than €6 billion, with 147 Scottish distilleries creating 7,000 jobs in rural and often structurally weak regions. Whiskey exports are booming and are recording double-digit growth rates per year. Of all types of whiskey, Scotch is considered the world’s most popular, far ahead of Canadian, Japanese and American competitors.You might think that investing in whiskey is always worth it. But in order to make sustainable Scotch, you have to break with almost all traditions. And that explains Thomas’ pioneering achievements.As a family-run and independent distillery, Nc’nean is a rarity in itself — almost 70% of distilleries are owned by companies based outside Scotland. Diageo, a London group, owns almost half of all Scottish brands, including Johnnie Walker, Justerini & Brooks and Vat 69. Another 20% of the distilleries belong to the portfolio of Pernod Ricard from France, including well-known brands such as Ballantine’s and The Glenlivet.
The huge demand is both a blessing and a curse for Scottish whiskey, as the environment suffers as a result of its success. The industry does not want to be climate neutral until 2040. This goal doesn’t sound too ambitious and shows that manufacturing has so far been a dirty business.The majority of distilleries burn millions of liters of oil or other fossil fuels to cover their high energy consumption, and the barley and barrels also have a large carbon footprint. The most important ingredient in single malt, barley, is imported from Canada or Ukraine, and the barrels made in the USA also require long transport routes. However, the use of peat, which gives whiskey its special smoky taste, is particularly controversial.Although peat bogs only cover 3% of the earth’s surface, they store twice as much CO2 as all of the world’s forests combined. In Ireland and the United Kingdom they are responsible for 85% of drinking water. When peat is broken down, not only is carbon dioxide released, but one of the most important CO2 stores is also destroyed. Thomas therefore refrains from using peat — also to protect the moors and the bioreserves associated with them. But not all distilleries want to forego the peat note entirely. Globally, the proportion of peat used by distilleries is very low, but thanks to Thomas, the flavor enhancer is now increasingly treated as a very valuable ingredient that is used sporadically and in smaller quantities.Thomas started from scratch and first had to find sponsors. She only raised £100,000 in initial funding, but that was enough to get started. Investors trusted their vision and concept, and in the following years £7.5m was raised. Thomas was able to convert the farm and purchase the most important tool: a biomass burner from the Kohlbach company from Wolfsberg in Carinthia. This meant Thomas was able to generate energy for distillation using sustainable fuel instead of the usual oil or natural gas. The first whiskey began to mature in spring 2017.
But it’s not just energy production that is environmentally friendly. The barley comes from local organic farmers and the bottles are made from 100% recycled glass. Distillation residues are fed to cows or used as natural fertilizer on the fields. Even the cleaning of the equipment is more ecological than in other distilleries: Thomas was the first whiskey producer to use a cleaning agent that is based on natural enzymes and is more commonly used by beer brewers; The founder even pays attention to these details.Nc’nean now produces around 250,000 bottles of climate-neutral and environmentally friendly whiskey. It compensates for the remaining carbon dioxide emissions of 26 tons per year by purchasing CO2 certificates. For comparison, a traditional fossil fuel distillery of similar size would produce ten times more emissions.The first bottle of Nc’nean Single Malt was bottled at the start of the Covid pandemic after three years of maturation. Thomas auctioned off the first ten bottles for a local charity. “The world was in a really bad place back then, so we wanted to give something back to the community first,” Thomas said. Your Scotch is fruity and fresh, with spicy hints and notes of apricot, citrus and peach. It is aged in red wine and bourbon barrels, which gives it an elegant sweetness, as experts testify. By the way, Thomas prefers to drink her Scotch with soda.In addition to whiskey, Thomas also produces an organic botanical spirit, which was created over the course of many distilling experiments. The New Make — a whiskey that has not yet been matured — is flavored with juniper, coriander, licorice, grapefruit, thyme, sorrel and heather during a second distillation. This creates a spicy whiskey-gin hybrid, ideal for cocktails.
Annabel Thomas wants to make her whiskey and the entire industry not only greener, but also more feminine. 17 people work for her company, the gender ratio is balanced. Every year Thomas organizes Women’s Whiskey Week: she invites women to explore all aspects of a distillery. The hope is to attract more women to the industry, including as workers.Traditional marketing still relies on hypermasculine and outdated motifs. The cowboy who oils his dry throat with a whiskey after a long ride through the prairie will certainly not drink Scotch from the Highlands — but the Scottish national drink is also considered a symbol of a men’s world. Thomas also wants to break old patterns here: “The industry could also reorient itself in marketing and bury old stereotypes forever,” she says.Sales of the Nc’nean have increased steadily and — like the entire industry — will continue to grow in the coming years. Meanwhile, competitors and whiskey lovers visit Thomas’ flagship company to further their education, including the gentlemen of the old guard: in tweed jackets and Wellington boots, they stroll through Thomas’ eco-distillery, which has a rare seal of approval for its environmental and ethical standards. It is expressly desired that the gentlemen (yes, they are almost always men) adopt a few green innovations. For Thomas, it is confirmation that their disruption is really changing the industry — and perhaps the Scottish whiskey industry’s climate goals are more likely to be achieved. The entrepreneur is optimistic: “I think the change is happening faster than expected.” And that is largely thanks to her.
