Nc’Nean peat-free organic whisky (and an oat liqueur!)
Nc’Nean Distillery is a wonderful brand of organic barley whisky made in a village on the west coast of Scotland, powered by clean energy and unique peat-free (good for the planet and native wildlife). It’s even sold in recycled glass bottles.
Not only that, the range includes flavoured whisky, an oat-based cream liqueur (like a Scottish vegan version of Baileys) and a botanical spirit akin to gin.
The range includes:
Single malt Scotch whisky is the main choice with notes of citrus, peach, apricot and spice, with rye bread. It’s matured in American whiskey barrels that have been treated with red wine, along with sherry casks.
Drink this whisky over ice with soda water, and a sprig of fresh mint.
The Cask Strength version is sold in a gorgeous blue cardboard gift tube, made from 90% recycled paper.
Why Nc’Nean is a sustainable drinks brand
- Both the whisky and botanical spirits are available in miniature bottles, perfect for wholesale use. And to avoid waste if you are only drinking small drams!
- The barley is from the east coast of Scotland to support local farmers (it can’t grow in the west, as the land is too wild and wet!)
- As only people who live locally can use their refill scheme, all retail and wholesale customers can return their bottles (free) for recycling, so they can use them again for new customers.
- Names of the drinks are printed directly onto bottles with water-based inks, to avoid the use of paper labels.
- The bottle tampers are made from biodegradable wood, as opposed to wood. You can compost these after use.
- All bottles are made from recycled glass with real cork stoppers. Cork is grown in Spanish and Portugese forests, and just ‘tapped’ from trees (they are not cut down). Keeping the cork industry alive in a world of plastic wine corks helps to preserve forests and wildlife.
Corks are choking hazards if left lying around, so if your off licence does not recycle them, send them off in bulk to Recorked. You can compost them in theory, but this usually takes a very long time! If you do this, cut or break the cork into smaller pieces before adding to your compost bin.
Why are peat bogs important?
Peat is basically naturally decaying matter, and most has been in the ground for thousands of years. It provides habitats for many endangered creatures including butterflies, and also soaks up rain to help avoid floods.
Gardener Monty Don says that using peat compost is ‘ecocide’. Choose peat-free composts in stores or make your own garden compost. Keep fresh compost away from pets as it contains mould (note that many mulches like cocoa are also toxic). Read more on pet-friendly gardens.
Nc’Nean specialty flavoured whisky
Quiet Rebels is a chocolate stout cask whisky, with notes of baking spices. It’s aged in red wine casks.
Malted teacake tastes like fig marmalade, buttered toast and fresh baked cake!
Lemon Meadow uses a yeast normally reserved for sparkling wine, to produce a whisky with flavours of lemon sorbet, chamomile and butter shortbread.
Quiet Rebels Sarah (oat liqueur)
This vegan cream liqueur is a rich and creamy drink made with organic single malt Scotch whisky and organic oats, ideal from the fridge, served over ice. Sold in a 100% recycled glass bottle.
Never pour any kind of cream liqueur down sinks or drains, as it will block them. Drink them up instead!
Nc’Nean botanical spirit
This is a nice organic Scottish alternative to gin (as it uses malted barley as the base, it can’t legally be called a gin). As well as classical juniper, it uses local Scottish plants for a rich floral spirit that’s nice with tonic water or any cocktails.
Serve with ice, tonic and a dash of organic bitters or slice of grapefruit. Check medication before drinking tonic water, due to quinine and grapefruit.
