NASA PAINT, WATER CAPTURE AND INCREASED HEAT TRANSFER

Since the distillery’s inception we have been focused on reducing our environmental impact. Gin was the first spirit to flow in 2018, and in February 2021 we achieved the milestone of turning our Dry and Herb gins carbon-negative, making them England’s first carbon-negative gins.

From that point onwards, we have been working intently on the whisky-side of our operation, aiming to reduce the energy and water use associated with the production of the new-make malt spirit (essentially un-aged ‘whisky’). This month the new systems and kit are up and running. In this blog we’ll explain some of the key improvements.

NASA Paint

Yes, you read that correctly. We have painted the pot of our copper still in a cutting-edge, insulating paint developed for NASA (which they use to protect the tips of space rockets from heat damage when re-entering the atmosphere). Applied in 3 coats, the matt grey paint is filled with ceramic micro-beads, which form an incredibly effective insulating layer just 3mm thick. When the still is running at 100°C, you can comfortably rest your hand on the outside of it (it’s around 60°C). Whilst much of the pretty copper is now covered, we believe this a small price to pay in return for a drastic reduction in distillation run times and energy consumption.

Water Capture

The still condenser is fed by mains water at around 10°C, which helps condense the vapour coming off the still into flowing distillate, before exiting the condenser at around 60°C. We now capture this water in an insulated stainless-steel vessel and use it to pre-heat the wash entering the still the next morning, by passing both liquids through a heat exchanger. Any remaining hot water is used for cleaning. It’s a simple system that saves both energy and water.

Increased Heat Transfer

We previously heated the still using an electrical element array mounted onto the underside of the still (which was not in direct contact with the liquid inside the still). This system proved to be inefficient, as much of the heat was transferred to the air around the elements. We have now installed three new elements within the pot itself, along with a pump to recirculate the still’s contents, maintaining a steady flow of liquid over the elements. This new set-up minimises caking on the elements (burning of liquid onto their surface) and increases the energy efficiency of our distillation runs. Thanks to a new panel, we now have incremental control over the elements’ power supply and the pump’s speed, giving us greater control over the distillation process.

Spirit Character

You might ask how this will affect the character of our new-make spirit, which usually has plenty of sweet barley and fruit on the nose, toffee pennies and a beautiful maltiness on the palate, and a long rich finish. Through careful adjustments to the new distillation process, we have maintained those barley and fruit flavours, and added a rich, hazelnut note to both nose and palate, and increased the luxurious oiliness to the mouthfeel. We have improved on an already gold medal-winning spirit and we cannot wait for you to try it!

August 2022 Update

The data is now in! We're proud to say that we've achieved a whopping 21% reduction in the energy used for whisky making, equating to an annual saving of 7,757 kWh.

If you want to try our delicious new-make spirit, you can buy a bottle from the online shop.