Nc'nean distillery
Nc'nean distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula in the Highlands of Scotland. It was founded by Annabel Thomas and commenced production in 2017, focusing on producing an organic spirit with minimum impact on the local environment.
History
The distillery was founded by Annabel Thomas and commenced production in 2017. It is based in Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula in the Highlands of Scotland. The distillery is beside the Sound of Mull, opposite the Isle of Mull. The distillery name Nc'nean, comes from "Neachneohain", a Gaelic legend which translates as the Queen of Spirits.Initial funding for the distillery came from family, friends, loans, seed investors under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and a £600,000 grant from the EU via the Scottish Government. One known investor is Jeremy Paxman who owns a 0.6% stake. Just prior to the first distillation in 2017, the master distiller Jim Swan died suddenly. The current master distiller is Gordon Wood, who previously worked at Diageo. The whisky is unpeated.
In March 2020, the distillery raised £1.7 million of funds to allow for expansion. In August of the same year, it sold its inaugural bottle of single malt Scotch whisky at auction, raising £41,004 for charity.
Nc'nean focuses on producing an organic spirit with minimum impact on the local environment. The distillery was the first in the UK to reach net zero carbon emissions during whisky production. The distillery uses renewable electricity, offsets emissions by forest planting and uses 100% recycled glass in its bottles. In February 2022 Nc'nean became a certified B Corp and in 2024 it introduced a free postage bottle return scheme.