By Scott Wright

ARBIKIE, the Angus-based “field to bottle” distiller, has again turned to the humble garden pea for its latest spirit launch.

The single-estate producer is toasting World Sustainable Spirits Day with the launch of Nadar, a pea-based vodka. It is the latest addition to Arbikie’s “climate positive spirit range”. By utilising garden peas in the production process, the company said it has eschewed the need for synthetic fertiliser and reliance on imported protein for animal feed.

It is the second time Arbikie has tapped into the technique, having first developed the pea-based spirit for its Nadar Gin. The distiller states that production of the spirit “avoids more carbon dioxide emissions than it creates”. Some 20,000 bottles of Nadar vodka, which takes its name from the Gaelic for nature, have been produced, with a recommended retail price of £43 per bottle.

Arbikie is based on a Highland estate that the Stirling family have farmed for four generations. The distiller controls the growing, distilling and bottling process, which it said ensures “exceptional provenance and traceability”. In 2018, Arbikie debuted the first new rye whisky to be made in Scotland in more than a century.

Master distiller Kirsty Black said: “We’re always looking to think differently, and by aligning our distillery production with the activity of the farm, we are using our knowledge of growing, and the vagaries of the changing Scottish climate, and indeed how these factors impact our growing season, to produce the finest spirits from some of the best agricultural land in the country. By shifting our focus to climate change and biodiversity loss we not only want to minimise our impact on the environment but also inspire and demonstrate to others the potential options available.”