Welcome to the third episode of In Conversation With… hosted this month by Principal Consultant Mark Bowsher-Gibbs.  On today’s episode Mark is joined by John Stirling (Director at Arbikie Distilling Limited). They discuss how John draws on different strengths within the family business to sustainably produce a premium brand spirit, controlling the whole production process, starting with quality home-grown ingredients. Mark and John explore how to add value to the crops grown on farm, marketing of products and how to remain competitive in the marketplace. To finish, John outlines his vision for the future of Arbikie. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. 

Episode Timestamps  

03.34 Arbikie – a historical family business 

07.00 Drawing on family skill sets  

10.23 Lightbulb moment! 

12.34 Varietal resilience  

14.35 Different crops and the processing calendar  

18.20 The world’s first climate positive spirits 

20.34 Intercropping  

22.57 The premium market – quality over quantity 

25.06 Producing base spirit at Arbikie 

28.51 Unique selling points – locality, short supply chain, sustainability 

29.43 Emissions – sequestering more than emitting 

34.00 World’s first green hydrogen distillery 

35.40 Water – conserving a valuable resource  

FAS Resources 

www.fas.scot/crops-soils/soils/regenerative-agriculture/ 

www.fas.scot/news/legumes-in-rotations-benefits-for-the-environment-and-your-budget/  

www.fas.scot/news/grant-funding-to-help-scottish-agri-businesses-reduce-emissions-and-improve-sustainability/ 

Other Resources    

www.arbikie.com  

www.hutton.ac.uk   

sustainable creds SINGLE PAGES).pdf 

Elsevier Science Article Nadar .pdf 

Arbikie_Nadar_G&V_A5 Brochure_Jan21_WEB.pdf 

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 

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Facebook: @FASScot 

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Phone: 0300 323 0161 

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