Nc’nean founder Annabel Thomas has made it her mission to make whisky ‘inclusive and accessible’ for everyone.
It’s no surprise that Nc’nean is forging its own path, the distillery named after Gaelic Pagan goddess, Neachneohain, “known as a protector of nature and for walking her own path”.
These two aims capture the essence of Nc’nean, which prioritises sustainability and bringing whisky to new audiences.
“What I felt at the beginning was that Scotch whisky was talking to a very narrow audience, which tended to be older, white men,” says Annabel, CEO at the organic distillery.
“But my mission was not specifically a female-driven one, it was an aim to broaden whisky out as there are all sorts of people out there who would appreciate this amazing drink.
“By virtue of some rather outdated marketing, as an industry we were still excluding them.
“We were trying to break down those barriers, make it more inclusive and accessible. That was very fundamental to what I was trying to do.
“I really wasn’t thinking that much about gender, I was more thinking about the next generation.”
Female distillery founder asked ‘do you actually like whisky?’
Nc’nean started production back in 2017, and as is implied in one of their products named Quiet Rebels, they have aimed to change the game.
Achieving net zero carbon emissions and using organic ingredients has helped the business achieve a B Corp certification.
But Annabel explains that gender-based ‘perception problems’ along the way have led people to doubt her own passion for whisky.
“The female bit is something that I have come to understand more over time,” she adds.
“And that’s really a reflection of me understanding how people perceive the fact that I have started a whisky distillery – and they think that’s completely bananas.”
This can be “enormously frustrating”, says Annabel.
“I am still very much of the opinion that whisky is for everyone,” she continues.
“We’re not trying to specifically attract female or male drinkers, we’re just trying to create a delicious whisky that is delicious and accessible to everybody.
“It’s made me realise that maybe there is an even bigger problem than I thought there was.
“Because people will say things to me like: ‘Do you actually like whisky?’
“As though it is more believable that a woman has spent 12 years of her career working on something she doesn’t like, than a woman might actually like whisky.
“That is an indication of the perception problems that there are out there.
“I do find that enormously frustrating, and I hope in a small way that what we are doing at Nc’nean can address that, and encourage more people into whisky.”
Why does Nc’nean appeal to non-whisky drinkers?
And feedback which Annabel and her team receive from customers is proof that they are helping to encourage new whisky drinkers.
“When people who think that they don’t like whisky try Nc’nean and they actually really like it, it feels great – this is why we’re here,” she says.
So what makes Nc’nean more ‘accessible’ than other whiskies on the market?
“I think there’s a few things,” Annabel explains.
“From a flavour point of view, it tastes different. It’s unpeated – that’s absolutely essential. Because if you don’t like whisky, peated isn’t the place to start.
“We’ve gone for a very elegant, fruity taste profile.
“What I wanted to create was something that is easy to drink and accessible if you’re new to whisky. But that has enough depth and complexity that if you’re a seasoned whisky drinker you can still appreciate it.”
Nc’nean is ‘about giving people permission to drink whisky in a different way’
Nc’nean distil a range of alcohols, including their organic single malt Scotch whisky and an organic botanical spirit.
Another popular product is the Quiet Rebels whisky, with each edition celebrating a member of the Nc’nean team.
Annabel encourages customers to drink Nc’nean whisky alongside soda, or even in a cocktail such as their whisky espresso martini or Rob Roy.
Annabel says: “It’s about giving people permission to drink it in a different way, having it look different and finding people in different places.
“We often offer it in a form that isn’t neat whisky.
“That comes from my own personal learning. When I finally started to appreciate whisky – having tried it God knows how many times – I realised that what I didn’t like about it was not the actual whisky taste, it was the amount of alcohol in it.
“Because I’d only ever been offered it neat.
“This comes back to all of this baggage that we’ve inherited from the 80s and 90s. Which says that you are only ever to serve whisky neat.
“You still go on some distillery tours and they say you must only drink a single malt neat.
“We have a whisky and soda recipe printed on the side of the bottle. And at events we will try to serve it a different way other than neat.”
This celebration of whisky in all its forms is key to Nc’nean and Annabel’s beliefs.
“All of this comes back to the fact that Scotch is an amazing product,” she says.
“It is so important to Scotland in culture and economy and everything else.
“We’ve just got to spread the word.”
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