Earth, wind and hydrogen: an ancient craft leaps into the 21st century – Forbes.
On a sprawling farm next to the sandy beaches and glimmering waters of Scotland’s Lunan Bay, a freshly minted spirits maker is jumping into the global market for Scotch whisky with a new way of doing things.
The Arbikie Distillery turned on the lights in 2014, taking on old agriculture and old energy, and leap-frogging over establishment spirits brands who say they’re doing “as much as they can right now” and “hope to do more” to meet climate goals. Arbikie is one of Scotland’s newest distilleries, jumping into the climate imperative with both feet, empowered by the agility of freshly constructed modern spaces and liberated by no debt to age-old customers looking for age-old products.
Before the summer is out, Arbikie expects to mark what will be a groundbreaking achievement: throwing off the chokehold of fossil fuel by becoming the Scotch whisky industry’s first green hydrogen distillery.
It is a story of family tradition, cultural pride, preservation of the land and by extension the planet, raw business know-how and survival. John Stirling and brothers Iain and David inherited this four-generation agricultural business from a father with no high school diploma but a determination to work hard and build a business, eventually putting together 2,000 acres.
Decades ago, it was in part a dairy farm, with a herd of prolific Holstein Friesians. Like many dairy farmers, though, supermarket-driven downward price pressures forced them to abandon the milk business. In a nod to the traditions of the Scottish Highlands, a peaceful herd of five Highland cows stand in a field just before the Distillery center.
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Earth, Wind And Hydrogen: An Ancient Craft Leaps Into The 21st Century, June 7, 2023
