In the latest development in its ongoing expansion, Kingsbarns Distillery has installed a heat exchange system.
The distillery, which is owned by Wemyss Family Spirits, invested £150,000 in the new system. It says that expects to save £20,000 per year in energy costs as a result of the technology. The system is also expects to reduce consumption of kerosene at the distillery by 14 per cent annually.
The heat exchange system makes use of energy from liquid left in stills once alcohol has been extracted, which would formerly have been discarded. The hot liquid is redirected to preheat the wash for the next distillation.
Peter Holroyd, Kingsbarns distillery manager, explained: "We've carefully engineered a solution that will effectively capture and reuse heat from our distillation process, cutting our kerosene use by 160 litres per day.
"By recovering heat from our pot ale and spent lees and sending it through a heat exchanger, we're raising wash temperatures from around 20 degrees to 70-80 degrees, significantly reducing our energy input. The beauty of this system is that in time it will pay for itself."
In 2024, Wemyss Family Spirits announced that it would phase out presentation boxes and cartons, in line with its aim to reach net zero carbon emissions.
Director of production Isabella Wemyss said: "There are huge upsides to this technology, it is saving us time, cutting our carbon emissions, and saving us costs on fuel for the distillery. Combined with our use of locally sourced ingredients and waste-reduction initiatives, we are doing everything we can to ensure that our approach to whisky production is sustainable.
"For us, investing in the best technology is essential to keeping our whisky production at the highest industry standards and our team is constantly exploring opportunities to ensure we set the standard."
She added: "It’s vital that we ensure that our approach to creating quality whisky is done in a sustainable and sensible way, that doesn’t impact the whisky or environment in a negative way."
