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Single Malt Scotch Whisky Builds the Future by Embracing the Past

Single malt Scotch Whisky has always been an indelible part of the fabric of Scottish society, the kind of enchanting export that connects you to a time, a place, and a people. But even as it has held tight to its heritage, premium spirit, and surrounding culture, it has quietly become a big player in the contemporary mission of global sustainability. We partnered with Food is GREAT to bring this story to life.

The Macallan Estate

Craigellachie Distillery

Isle of Arran

Craigellachie Distillery

Aberfeldy Distillery

Bunnahabhain Distillery

On the windswept island of Islay, Kilchoman Distillery grows much of the barley it uses to make single malt Scotch Whisky on its own working farm. In a remote corner of the Highlands, flanked by mountains and sea lochs, the female-founded Nc’Nean is fully powered by green energy and recycles 99.9 percent of its waste. In the Lowlands, for the first time in a century, Glasgow Distillery Co. has fired up gleaming copper stills in the heart of one of Scotland’s great cities. This is just a taste of modern-day Scotch Whisky making; a process that has become more exciting than ever before.

Across Scotland, rich distilling traditions are being married with modern science and a deep respect for the environment. The result? A remarkable spirit that represents the land and people of Scotland. It is the nation’s emissary to the world and an encapsulation of Scotland’s values and commitment to heritage, innovation, and, increasingly, a greener, cleaner Earth.

Heritage is GREAT

What IS single malt Scotch Whisky, really?

For the uninitiated, the first thing to know about Scotch Whisky is that it can only be made in Scotland. Single malt Scotch Whisky refers to one particular style of Scotch Whisky. The “single” in single malt means the whisky is the product of just one distillery, influenced by its unique environment. “Malt” means it is made entirely from barley that has been malted — moistened and heated so that it starts to germinate, which naturally converts some of the starch into sugar so the barley can be fermented and then distilled. Single malts have been produced in Scotland for hundreds of years, in almost every area of the country. Scotch Whisky production is so prolific, in fact, that the country is divided into five Scotch Whisky regions. Each has its own history, distinctive perspective, character, and taste; each offers a seductive balance of old and new.

Distilleries across the five regions keep communities alive, resilient, and connected to their pasts.

In the region of Campbeltown, for instance, you’ll find Glen Scotia Distillery. Its whisky is still distilled in the original building that dates back to the 1830s. It’s made with some of the same equipment, and aged in the same traditional earth-floor dunnage warehouse from that era as well. It’s one of three remaining distilleries in a region that was once renowned as the Whisky Capital of the World in the Victorian era. Things have changed for the region since then, but in an increasingly modernized world, Glen Scotia’s authentic through-line to history is undeniably unique and exciting.

Many communities across Scotland are supported by tourism economies that value the products of the land and help residents thrive. (Tourism is, of course, also bolstered by soaring crags, dramatic vistas, beautiful botanical gardens, and ancient standing stones). At the heart of many of these communities are distilleries. Just east of Campbeltown, straddling the geologic boundary between the Highlands and Lowlands, two distilleries call the Isle of Arran home. In the north, past the Machrie Moor standing stones, Brodick Castle, and the imposing Goat Fell mountain, the Arran Coastal Trail wends its way to Isle of Arran’s Lochranza Distillery, whose un-peated Arran single malt reflects the tiny island’s regional influences. In the south, Lagg is creating a new peated single malt Scotch Whisky, not yet bottled but available by the cask. Much farther north along the same stunning western coastline, the Isle of Raasay Distillery, on the minute island of Raasay, has been bringing in new visitors eager to discover the area’s unique culture and unusual volcanic geology since it opened in 2017. For even more evidence, look to Talisker Distillery on the Isle of Skye. The distillery has occupied the same site for nearly 200 years, attracting visitors with its premium single malts, special bottlings, and the beautiful, otherworldly location near the knife-edge ridges of the Cuillin mountains.

Lochranza Distillery

Look beyond the moors and mountains.

Ongoing urbanization and an economic boom in the Lowlands region have led to a flowering of distilleries within easy reach of Scotland’s biggest urban areas. There are now well over a dozen distilleries in cities across the Lowlands with experiences to draw every taste. At Auchentoshan, you can fill a bottle from a hand-chosen cask; a tasting at Kingsbarns Distillery can be paired with a round of golf at St Andrews, the sport’s birthplace; in Edinburgh, a biofuel-powered shuttle will take you outside the city to visit the gardens at Glenkinchie Distillery, which has won the Gold Award for Green Tourism; and Glasgow Distillery Co., Glasgow’s first Scotch Whisky distillery in over a century, has a popup shop in the city center — a perfect stop after a long day enjoying Glasgow’s historic Victorian architecture.

Individual stories are a springboard for the big picture.

These pockets of community synergy are not outliers; they are indicative of a nation that fully embraces a spirit of collective responsibility. Zoom out and you’ll find a larger sustainability strategy at play: Aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Scotch Whisky industry collectively developed its own environmental roadmap and has already achieved meaningful reductions in emissions, water use, and fossil fuel use. By focusing on nature-based solutions and stewardship of the land, Scotland hopes to achieve net zero emissions nationwide by 2045; the Scotch Whisky industry is doing its part. Tomatin Distillery is well down this road. Deep in the Highlands, it has created new biofuel and thermal energy systems and installed electric car charging stations, reducing its carbon output by over 80 percent in the last few years alone. Others are following a similar path.

Take a look at some of the distilleries in Speyside. The region hosts many of Scotland’s largest distilleries and millions of aging Scotch Whisky casks. It’s not some industrial landscape filled with factories; it never has been. Like great wine regions across the world, Speyside is picturesque and rural, and preserving these qualities, while still allowing for modernization, is high priority. Here, alongside the fast-flowing River Spey, 19th-century distilleries with distinctive pagoda roofs mingle with contemporary, glass-clad wonders like Dalmunach and The Macallan (easily mistaken, at a distance, for just a few more of Speyside’s rolling hills), all of which have invested huge resources in reducing water usage, reusing energy, and shrinking their carbon footprint.

Scotch Whisky brought an oyster population back to life.

Scotch Whisky distilleries owe much to their immediate surroundings, so they naturally look to protect them. In the Highlands, Glenmorangie has helped restore the native oyster population, which once numbered in the millions, by establishing a new reef in the Dornoch Firth below the distillery. Oysters function as a natural filtration system, resulting in cleaner, clearer water and a healthier aquatic habitat. They also pair brilliantly with Scotch Whisky. Glengoyne (whose name means “glen of the wild geese”) has similar ambitions. In addition to using 100 percent local, recyclable, plastic-free packaging, it has partnered with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust to restore the surrounding wetlands, which besides being an excellent carbon sink, are also the habitat for those wild geese.

Regenerative farming contributes to a premium palate.

Other distilleries, like Arbikie in the Highlands and Daftmill in Fife, grow all their barley themselves in a field-to-bottle approach. These farm distilleries work the soil in a sustainable way, employing agriculture practices like biodynamic farming, wildlife preservation, and crop rotation to regenerate topsoil and prevent erosion. These green farming techniques lead to better crops, grown for flavor rather than for yield. And since single malt Scotch Whisky is made with just three ingredients — water, yeast, and malted barley — that flavor carries through, ensuring a distinctive quality and taste. It’s science, not sorcery, but the taste is undeniably magical.

While Kilchoman releases some expressions using only its own malt, for higher production core releases they turn to Scotland’s farms to source the grain. With many other distilleries producing the spirit on a larger scale, this puts the Scotch Whisky industry in a great position to support Scotland’s farmers by purchasing barley from them. Indeed, Scotland’s climate lends itself well to cereal production — almost all of the barley used in Scotch Whisky is sourced from within Scotland. The industry’s environmental ethos is a fundamental ingredient of single malt Scotch Whisky; the adherence to place and provenance is what makes the spirit so distinctive and transportive.

Innovation and representation reinforce sustainability efforts.

Just north of Inverness lies the Cromarty Firth, a narrow inlet off the North Sea. The Dalmore Distillery has aged casks on the Firth’s north shore since 1839. Here, master distiller and Scotch Whisky legend Richard Paterson OBE has worked for five decades to marry the art and science of aging Scotch Whisky. But he, and other distillers of every generation, are not just re-creating the past. They are learning from it, reinventing it, building upon it. The new generation of Scotch Whisky making is more diverse and welcoming than ever before. Women like Annabel Thomas of Nc’nean, Arbikie master distiller Kirsty Black, and Rachel Barrie, the renowned master blender behind the Highland single malts BenRiach and GlenDronach, have opened doors to new voices and new drinkers all over the world.

The term “sustainability” is thrown around like a kilt in the wind, but at its core, it is about the coexistence of value generation, the planet, and people. In casual conversations, we often eschew the economic and social aspects in favor of the environmental. All are crucial pieces of the sustainability puzzle, and few products illustrate that symbiosis quite like single malt Scotch Whisky. Whether you have yet to be seduced by your first dram, are an experienced connoisseur constantly on the hunt for new expressions or learnings about the wizardry of old favorites, or are simply dreaming of your next trip to Scotland, the journey begins with a glass of single malt Scotch Whisky. All it takes to connect with a people and a place, and the past and the present, is a taste of this magic in a glass.

Five Scotch Whisky Regions:

Speyside

Home to the densest concentration of distilleries and famous for whiskies with a fruity flavor profile.

Lowlands

Softer, grassier whiskies, which can be ideal for cocktails and those discovering Scotch for the first time.

Highlands

Includes most of Scotland’s many islands. Numerous styles, including complex whiskies with a fruity or floral character, through to salty coastal malts.

Campbeltown

Once a whisky-making hub, this coastal peninsula is now home to three distilleries crafting spice-forward, maritime whiskies.

Islay

Home to often extremely smoky whiskies, with flavors emerging from the process of drying the malt with smoke from a peat-fueled fire.