The first new distillery in a historic Scottish city in more than a century has been launched.
The £7.5 million Uile-bheist distillery and brewery on River Ness in Inverness, powered by a low carbon sustainability centre on-site, is expected to attract 100 tour visits per day in peak season.
Future phases will see the creation of a distilling “campus” in Inverness, with increased capacity, a bonded warehouse with shopping plus enhanced tap room, tasting and visitor spaces.
Uile-bheist, Gaelic for “monster”, is the first distillery to open in the city since 1892, with the first casks being filled in the coming days.
Its signature craft ales, ready by early April, will be the first beers brewed in Inverness for 34 years.
Glen Mhor hoteliers and co-owners Victoria and Jon Erasmus and master distiller/brewer Bruce Smith will lead the team.
“Our scale is craft, not volume. Our clean energy process, using shallow water wells, has been described as exemplary,” said Mr Erasmus.
“It’s great to bring whisky distilling and brewing back to the city but we also wanted a high level of design specification throughout, from the stills to the dramming area, to the tap room.
"If people have travelled from New York or Tokyo, or if they’ve seen a lot of other distilleries, we want them to come here and think 'I really like what they’ve done, here'. Everything is photogenic.”
Water and energy for Uile-bheist’s whisky production comes from the River Ness through a heating system which uses shallow water wells to fire heat pumps.
Water is treated by fluorescent light with the only grid requirement being electricity, partly provided by the glass-fronted building’s roof-top solar installations.
The production of the low carbon whisky and craft beer comes through a dual technology developed from famous German brewing innovators and coppersmiths, Kaspar Schulz.
Royal family in £140m purchase from Scottish business
The Liechtenstein royal family has struck a £140 million deal to buy Edinburgh-based abrdn’s discretionary fund management business in the UK and Jersey, which has £6.1 billion in assets under management and nearly 140 employees.
LGT, the international private banking and asset management group owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, said the deal further strengthened its position in the UK wealth management market.
Researchers use bacteria in efforts to make perfumes more sustainable
The scent of freshly cut grass and the sea air could be bottled up with the help of organisms found all around us.
Bacteria could be key to improving the ethics and sustainability of the perfume industry thanks to essential oils being developed by researchers from the University of Glasgow.
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