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The Heart Cut bottles its first Scotch with Nc’nean
What do you get when you pair an award-winning bottler with a B Corp distillery on the west coast of Scotland? A limited edition bottle of single malt Scotch whisky: The Heart Cut #12 Nc’nean Distillery.
This is the first Scotch whisky release from independent bottler The Heart Cut, founded in 2023 by Georgie Bell and her husband, Fabrizio Leoni.
Annabel Thomas founded Nc’nean in 2017, with a mission to create Scotch whisky as sustainably as possible.
The pair said the collaboration had been in discussions even before The Heart Cut had been established.
“As an independent bottler, we always want to make sure we are bottling something we are excited about,” explained Bell. “With each of our bottles, we want to show people a different side to the distilleries we partner with, while also making sure we keep some of that distillery character that runs through their own whiskies.
“Why do we want to do that? Well, we want people who try our Heart Cut whiskies to love them, and then also want to go back and discover more from those distilleries. And vice versa, when someone tries Nc’nean, or knows they love Nc’nean whiskies, if they’re looking for something different, but still with that Nc’nean character, they will hopefully come and find our bottling.”
This symbiotic partnership is reflected throughout The Heart Cut’s branding. The bottle label clearly showcases Nc’nean Distillery’s name, and the artwork was designed to reflect the rugged west-coast Scottish scenery.
Details about the whisky are also plain to see: it was distilled on 11 May 2020 and bottled on 22 October 2024 at 54% ABV. The whisky was matured in an ex-Bourbon barrel before being finished in a Madeira cask.
The result is a whisky with flavours of rum-and-raisin ice cream, dried raspberries, peach yoghurt, walnuts, and lemon balm. Bell and Thomas agree the whisky still carries the fruity character of Nc’nean, even after time in the Madeira cask.
Only 391 bottles will be available to purchase from The Heart Cut website and select retailers, such as Master of Malt, from 11 February. It has also secured on-trade listings in venues such as Dram in Soho, London.
Thomas said the partnership between Nc’nean and The Heart Cut made perfect sense, as both companies share the same mission, a sentiment echoed by Bell.
Thomas noted: “When we started Nc’nean we wanted to push Scotch into the 21st century, rather than always looking backwards. For me, a key thing we’re trying to do is look to the future. I love Scotch and I love Scotland as a country, and I wanted to create something that showed a new side to Scotch, and hopefully bring the industry along with us.
“We want to break down barriers about who should be drinking Scotch, and what they should be drinking and how you should be drinking it. And one of the things we’re really proud of at Nc’nean, and The Heart Cut is doing this as well, is our packaging; visually, it looks totally different.”
Is it time to look at Scotch in a different light?
Bell also noted the importance of this, with consumers being more discerning than ever before, and the rise of newer whisky-producing regions.
“We need to start looking at Scotch in the landscape of ‘whisky’, in a broader context than just ‘Scotch whisky’,” explained Bell. “People do care about provenance, but today they are more aware about whiskies being made around the world than three years ago.
“We have new whisky producers zigging where we used to zag, talking to whisky consumers today and looking at what they want.
“Scotch [says] ‘we are Scotch’, and that’s wonderful, but as a category, and an industry, it’s important to also look outside of that context at the amazing liquid coming out [of other markets]. It’s so amazing and exciting to see that and we can learn so much.”
With Scotch sales recently declining, should distillers and bottlers be concerned?
Thomas said: “We had the Covid boom, which we’re now seeing tail off. But I don’t think that shows a structural issue in Scotch. I think what [the declines are] really showing is still the overstocking post-Covid.
“In particular in Europe, in France and Germany, we’re seeing consumers are just really worried about money in their pockets. It’s as simple as that. Any small amount of economic uncertainty creates nervous spending.
“The US is different. For us, we have found the US and the UK to be really positive and in growth. We launched our US website last year and after our Christmas trading, our distributor there was saying we are actually quite low on stock – which is a good place to be in.”
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