Nc'nean

In January 2017 the project, until then called Drimnin distillery, took the name Ncn’ean, now written Nc’nean, to keep it apart from the estate's other businesses.^2,8,10 The name shortens Neachneohain, the Queen of Spirits in Gaelic legend.^2,8,10 Jim Swan, the consultant who worked with the team to design the distillery and its spirit, died on 14 February 2017, shortly before the first distillation.^3,4,11 The first spirit went into cask on 21 March 2017, made by three distillers led by manager Gordon Wood, formerly of nearby Oban distillery.^1,2,3

In March 2020 the company raised £1.7 million to allow for expansion.³ Its net zero status rests on its 2020 carbon footprint and covers the emissions it controls directly, such as running the distillery on renewable energy.^1,6,7 In February 2022 the company became a certified B Corp.^3,8 Highlands and Islands Enterprise funding of up to £250,000, reported in May 2022, helped pay for an on-site bottling plant, a new warehouse and equipment to expand production.^12,13,14 Thomas said the bottling plant let the firm grow sales while keeping control of the process and adding local jobs.^12,13,14

Its organic malt comes from Muntons maltings, made from barley grown by a few farmers in the east of Scotland.^8,9,15 All the water it uses to make whisky comes from a spring just behind the distillery.¹⁶ Its 4 stainless steel washbacks each take 5,000 litres of wort, the sugary water from the mash.^2,15,17 A 2018 report gave a minimum fermentation time of 65 to 70 hours.¹⁷ It has one wash still of 5,000 litres and one spirit still of 3,500 litres.^2,3 Both are lantern-shaped copper pot stills, made by Speyside Copperworks.^2,15,17 Steam from an 850kW biomass boiler heats the stills, and the boiler burns wood from a commercial forest two miles away.^2,7,18 Multi-pass shell and tube condensers turn the vapour back into spirit, cooled by rainwater recycled through a pond the distillery dug.^2,15,16 It was designed to make a light, fruity and estery spirit, helped by slow mashes, long fermentations and horizontal lyne arms, the pipes from still to condenser.^2,15,18 For six weeks a year it makes an Old Recipe for long ageing, keeping spirit for casks between 72% and 66% alcohol instead of 75% and 69.5%.^2,15,18 A 2018 report put its capacity at around 100,000 litres of alcohol a year.^4,17

Sources

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