Tomatin Distillery has been leading the way in terms of sustainability in the Scotch whisky industry. — Photos: Handout
Tomatin Distillery is no stranger to awards. In 2022, the distillery was named Scotch Whisky Producer of the Year and Outstanding Spirits Producer of the Year at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.
Its whiskies have also won numerous individual awards over the years, the most recent being the Tomatin 36 Year Old, which won the “Best Of Show” in the whisky category at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) 2023 in the United States.
But one accolade that the distillery is especially proud of is being named Sustainable Distillery of the Year at Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Awards 2023.
“It’s always amazing when individual whiskies win an award, because that shows the quality of the liquid. But it’s also important for the work that you do as a company and your kind of ethos to be recognised, which is really fulfilling for the staff to hear,” said Scott Adamson, global brand ambassador and also one of the blenders at Tomatin, during a recent interview in Kuala Lumpur.
There’s a connection between Tomatin and people that you don’t see other distilleries.
Sustainability has been a major concern for the Scotch industry in recent times, with the entire industry moving towards a collective goal of becoming more and more environmentally friendly in terms of processes, packaging and other aspects of making whisky.
Tomatin Distillery is one of those distilleries that have taken a huge step towards that goal.
In 2014, Tomatin became the first distillery in Scotland to introduce a biomass boiler (historically, the fuel used to heat up the stills, mash tun and so on tends to be oil and coal), which now contributes 80% of the distillery’s entire energy production.
“In 2014, the biggest impact was the carbon footprint, and we were able to address that with the biomass boiler,” Adamson said, adding that over the past few years, their focus has turned to the water they use to produce their whiskies.
An aerial view of Tomatin Distillery, with the river alongside it. Adamson says over the past years, the focus has turned to the water they use to produce their whiskies.
“Scotland has been getting warmer and drier summers than ever before. Although Tomatin is lucky that it has not had to worry about its water supply for the majority of its history, the industry as a whole now has a much closer eye on how much water is being extracted for making whisky, particularly during dry summers,” he said.
“At Tomatin, we have reduced our water extraction by 50% over the last couple of years. So the quantity of water coming into the distilleries to make our whiskey has reduced by half, and that’s an incredible thing.”
Adamson also explained that nothing that they have done has been particularly groundbreaking, as a lot of effort was put into just bringing the distillery’s equipment up to a more modern standard.
A historic photo of the Tomatin Distillery. A lot of the distillery's efforts have gone into upgrading the 126-year-old distillery to modern standards.
“It’s the little things here and there that have really helped, putting in new regulators on the condensers and things like that,” he said. “But I think that’s a big thing (for the industry to do). There are a lot of new distilleries now that, because they were built today, have to be modern and sustainable.
“But with Tomatin, you’re talking about distillery (that) a lot of which was built 126 years ago, and has grown over time. So we’re now retrofitting it with the most up-to-date technology in order to make sure that we’re working with sustainable practices.
“For that to be recognised ... I think it is incredibly important. And it’s something that our distillery team are very, very keen on exploring further.”
There’s a connection between Tomatin and the people that you don’t see in other distilleries, says Adamson.
Another important aspect of their story is that for the last 126 years, Tomatin has not only been a distillery, it’s also a community. “We’ve got 30 cottages on site, and they’re occupied by men and women who live and work at the distillery. We’ve got members of the third, fourth and even fifth generation of the same families living and working on site,” Adamson said, adding that the Tomatin Legacy celebrates the impact the distillery has had on the community of the town it is named after.
“There’s a connection between Tomatin and the people that you don’t see in other distilleries. That bond between people and place really ensures that everything that we’re doing today allows their sons and their grandsons and their granddaughters to continue producing whisky for us as well.”
The Tomatin Legacy was created as a tribute to the community of people that live and work around the distillery.
Ultimately, Adamson stressed that Tomatin remains committed to making the best whisky it can possibly make, especially with its core range of the Tomatin Legacy, Tomatin 12 Year Old, Tomatin 14 Year Old, and Tomatin 18 Year Old.
But at the same time, they also want to ensure a better future for the next generations.
“For whisky as a whole, time is such an incredibly important thing. When we’re producing whisky today, we often look to the past when this whisky was first made.
“So much of Scotch whisky is looking to the past and the traditions. But I think these days, looking forward looking in the future is equally as important,” Adamson concluded.
Follow @DrinksConnexion on Facebook and Instagram for details about Tomatin whisky in Malaysia. For enquiries on special releases and cask programs, contact Foo Ken Vin (fookv@drinksconnnexion.com.my) or Terence Tan (terence.tan@drinksconnexion.com.my).
