How does one go from management consultancy to founder and CEO of a sustainable whisky distillery? Annabel Thomas of Nc’nean can answer that. In 2013, she left her London job to found Nc'nean Distillery. Having travelled Scotland researching the industry and building a business plan, she identified something little spoken of at that time which formed a focal point for Nc’nean: sustainability. Having found her in, she was hooked. More than a decade later, Nc’nean has a portfolio of organic whiskies, a B Corp certification, and a passionate team of whisky lovers.

Whisky #1

Nc’nean

Huntress Orchard Cobbler

[This] really sums up all our creativity, innovation, [and] approach to whisky in one dram. Its origins also go all the way back to our master distiller Jim Swan. He helped us develop all of what would become Nc’nean spirit and maturation and everything, and he very sadly died two weeks before we did our first distillation run. We run two different spirit recipes in the distillery during the year, which was something I discussed with Jim, and Huntress Orchard Cobbler is just spirit from the weeks where we moved from one recipe to the other. That move creates this really delicious, fruity spirit. It wasn’t planned, and I think that’s part of the wonder of doing experiments, or even just doing things differently… We’ve called it Orchard Cobbler because it’s got these amazing cherry, jammy, vanilla-y, custardy flavours and a little hint of peppermint which just all balances things out, and it’s absolutely delicious.

Whisky #2

Compass Box

Affinity

This is a blend of whisky and Calvados, and I have chosen it because I love the idea of putting two spirits together in a bottle. I think it’s so cool, it’s so new and it’s so exciting. And I love the fact that they had that idea and then followed through with it and actually put it in a bottle… you get this lovely fresh appleness from the Calvados and all the kind of dried-fruit sweetness from the whisky in there, and it’s just this amazing combination. Like, very mind blowing. When we were starting up and looking at the whisky industry, Compass Box were doing really cool things. I think its mission to try and redefine people’s perception of blends — I see a lot of synergies with our mission to try and attract people into single malt who may feel like it’s not normally for them.

Whisky #3

Bruichladdich

Organic Barley 2012

I love Bruichladdich. The organic one is very citrusy, it’s got this butteriness that I find is common to lots of organic drams. And they’re also a distillery that I looked up to a lot when we were starting out; they’ve always been quite out there, and are also the only other B Corp-certified distillery in Scotland alongside Nc’nean. And obviously organic farming is something that’s very close to my heart, so I’m always out there looking for other organic whiskies. The 2012 is what I have in my cupboard right now.

Whisky #4

Pinhook Bourbon

Flagship Rye

This is Pinhook Bourbon, and I have picked their Flagship Rye, so this isn’t just all about barley. Their whisky is delicious, I tasted quite a lot of it on my recent trip to New York. Their tall, elegant bottles I love, too. And it’s also female founded, which is cool! The lady, Alice [Peterson], who runs it also came like me from management consulting, which is what I did back before Nc’nean. I was like, “I can’t believe there’s another woman who used to be a consultant who’s now in whisky.”

Whisky #5

Sculte

Twente

My last choice is Sculte, [which is] a tiny Dutch distillery, and I have chosen it because very sadly the guy who ran it passed away last week. We were very close to them. They have this incredible approach to whisky. They make this amazing liquid in tiny, tiny quantities. We have a very special project going on with them, and Gerard [Velthuis], who’s the one that died, and Roy [Kroeze], who’s their distiller, have been to visit us. They’re just really close distillery friends of ours, if you like… so I wanted to put something in but it’s kind of dedicated to [Gerard]. I would pick something from their Twente range. And that is a nod to their use of local oak, which I really love. They have all their casks specially made for them.

Luxury Item

Books

I would bring books. I don’t know how many I’m allowed, but if I’m going to
be on a beach with whisky, I’m just going to lie there in the sun and read a book and drink whisky. Something easy reading, like The Thursday Murder Club series or something, and then you don’t need to send anyone to pick me up — I’ll be fine.