Former strategy consultant Annabel grew up in Essex and she spent her childhood summers making the 12-hour journey to family holidays on the west coast of Scotland.
Passionate about whisky, the inspiration for Nc’nean came originally from the location itself – Annabel’s parents bought the farm that the distillery is on nearly 20 years ago – an area of Scotland that is wild, beautiful and evocative of whisky distilling. But it was a trip to Islay when the idea really solidified – Annabel witnessed first-hand how many Scottish distilleries do things the way they have always been done.
From these beginnings, Annabel started to develop the idea to create a whisky distillery that practices another of her great passions – sustainability.
Nc’nean began distilling in March 2017, after four years of fundraising and building the distillery from the ground up. Innovation and creativity are at the heart of the company’s philosophy and their award winning, organic single malt whisky has been making waves since its launch in August 2020 (including a world record-breaking £41,000 for the first bottle).
With an uncompromising focus on sustainability, in July 2021 Nc’nean achieved verified net zero carbon emissions from its own operations. It is the UK’s first whisky distillery to be classified as net zero for scopes 1 & 2 and reached its goal 20 years ahead of the industry target. In addition, all Nc’nean’s products are certified organic, its bottle is 100% recycled glass and it recycles or reuses 99.9% of its waste.