With the clock ticking on the Scotch Whisky Association’s target for net-zero emissions, 2023 was a year of expansion and eco-centricity in Speyside with several producers undertaking ambitious projects to grow capacity or to minimise their carbon footprint, with some endeavouring to achieve both objectives at the same time.
Of these, Chivas Brothers’ Glentauchers took centre stage in the autumn, hosting 130 guests at an ‘open house’ to share some initial lessons from its introduction of heat-recovery technologies that have seen the site reduce total energy consumption by 48 per cent and carbon emissions by 53 per cent.
Elsewhere in the region, GlenAllachie has seen similar results from its use of mechanical vapour recompression and Knockdhu took advantage of an extended summer shutdown to install a thermal vapour recompression system on its wash still.
With the majority of Speyside distilleries housed in buildings that are decades or even centuries old, there is a recognition that the demands of the 2040 target are going to require some whitewashed stone walls to give way to more efficient steel and glass structures. This shift, coupled with a desire to maximise the available space on sites so often restricted by neighbouring hills and glens, means that many distillery managers are taking advantage of the fresh air provided by torn-down walls and the convenience of an already hired crane to sneak in an extra still or four.
Aultmore leads the way with this approach, with work underway to double distilling capacity to just over 6 million litres of pure alcohol per annum
