Tomatin Distillery has won the title of ‘Sustainable Distillery of the Year’ at the Icons of Whisky Awards.
Located in the Scottish Highlands near Inverness, Tomatin is famous for its portfolio of whiskies, including Tomatin Single Malt, Cù Bòcan Single Malt and premium blend The Antiquary.
The Distillery is working with fellow members of the Scotch Whisky Association towards achieving the ambitious target, for the industry, of having net zero emissions in operations by 2040.
In 2013 Tomatin became the first distillery in Scotland to install an environmentally efficient wood pellet fuelled steam boiler for use in production. As a result, 80% of its production is now running off biomass energy, with the remaining 20% using LPG to make up the balance during periods of high demand.
In 2019 the distillery installed a weir to prevent over abstraction and ensure that the downstream water environment is healthy. In 2021 control valves were installed on the cooling system which has cut water consumption by more than half.
Instead of using the draff from the mashing process in animal feed, Tomatin Distillery now send it to a biogas plant to generate a green sustainable fuel which is then fed into the mains gas network. Meanwhile, the local environment is protected from the effluent streams created as a result of the production process by spreading it to local land as a soil improver.
This year the business invested in a partnership with Highland Tourism CIC, promoting sustainable tourism in the Highlands and supporting its key responsibility to the local community by protecting the local environment through conservation and sustainable practices to enhance the ecosystem resilience.
Managing director Stephen Bremner said: “We are aware that it is very easy to make statements about supporting sustainability and having a care for the environment but it’s actions that really count.
“We have watched the rapid growth of Highland Tourism CIC and believe their goals for the sector, the region, and world-class sustainable status will bring many benefits for the economy and the environment, which we are glad to support. We are extremely proud to be named Sustainable Distillery of the year at the prestigious Icons of Whisky Awards in recognition of our efforts.”
The Cù Bòcan brand is now working with Highland Tourism CIC to develop a peatland restoration initiative to offset the small amount of peat used in production of Cù Bòcan Single Malt.
