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Fettercairn
Distillery, alongside founding partners
Bairds Malt, has launched the new
Fettercairn 200 Club, a long-term
partnership with Northeast barley
farmers all within a 50 miles radius of
the Fettercairn distillery.
Fettercairn Distillery, alongside
founding partners Bairds Malt, has
launched the new Fettercairn 200 Club,
which is a visionary, long-term
partnership with Northeast barley
farmers all within a 50 miles radius of
the Fettercairn distillery. Partners are
all situated in the local Aberdeenshire
farming community on the doorstep of the
Highland Single Malt Distillery.
As of this year members of the 200 Club
have committed to supplying the
distillery with 100% of the barley
required to produce Fettercairn Single
Malt whisky, ensuring end to end
transparency of the highest quality
locally sourced barley. The launch of
the 200 Club is the latest step in the
Highland distillery's quest to realise
its land management vision for the next
100 years, ultimately enabling the
production of its own single origin
Single Malt whisky.
The partnership marks the beginning of a
mutual relationship between the whisky
makers and farmers for generations to
come. In line with ambition for greater
transparency across the industry, Bairds
Malt are founding partners of the club,
helping nurture the relationship between
distillery, the land and its guardians
that will define the future for whisky
made by Fettercairn. As the relationship
between the distillery and farmers
strengthen, so too does the potential
for innovation and experimentation in
future releases.
 The celebration also marks the reopening
of the popular distillery visitor
centre, following closure due to the
pandemic, and recent redevelopment of
the visitor facilities. The beautiful
new visitor centre has been upgraded to
provide a unique experience for those
keen to discover more about Fettercairn
and includes an iconic new sculpture –
Forest Flow - from acclaimed
environmental artist Rob Mulholland, now
a new feature of the distillery visitor
experience.
These developments follow on from the
unveiling of the Fettercairn Forest last
year which saw over 13,000 sessile
Quercus petraea and Quercus robur oak
saplings planted next to the distillery
on the historic 8,500-acre Fasque
Estate, representing a wider commitment
by owners Whyte & Mackay to develop a
sustainable future for responsibly
sourced Scottish oak.
Stewart Walker, Distillery Manager at
Fettercairn Distillery said:
"We talk about being progressive and
defying convention and the 200 Club
truly supports this commitment. Working
with local farmers not only supports our
vital community, but also ensures the
highest quality of locally supplied
barley is used in our unique
distillation process while truly
cementing our relationship with the
land. We’re delighted to be looking to
the future so positively and today is a
landmark for the future of Fettercairn,
we cannot wait to welcome our partners
and visitors back to the distillery."
Speaking at the event Nikki Cumming,
Senior Brand Manager said:
"This is a really special day for us
here at the distillery as an opportunity
to thank the local farming community. At
Fettercairn we like to say the next 100
years are as important as the past. This
initiative is really a true testament to
this by laying the foundations and
cementing relationships for future
generations of whisky makers and farmers
to come."
Charlie Strang Steel operates Sluie farm
in Aberdeenshire less than 15 miles from
Fettercairn, where his family has been
farming for three generations in both
beef and arable in the shape of wheat,
oats and barley. He believes the time is
right for this new initiative.
"It’s really important to have the
Distillery using Scottish barley from
some of the amazing farms in the area,
rather than taking it across the border
or in a boat from somewhere else. We are
able to farm to a very high standard in
Scottish quality assured crops
especially as more and more people are
looking for local produce. Scottish
whisky should use Scottish barley – it’s
as simple as that for me and it’s great
to support local people and business,"
he said.
David Innes and his son Matthew farm 560
acres at Mains of Fordoun farm growing
spring barley, wheat and winter barley,
oil seed rape and seed potatoes.
"We’re pretty proud that we’re supplying
the Distillery - it’s good to know that
Fettercairn is using grain coming from
the immediate area - true to its nature
and the location. We love the idea that
if you give someone a bottle of whisky,
you can tell them you helped grow the
barley, the raw material. A lot of the
time farmers like us don’t really know
where our barley ends up – this
completes the circle in a really
pleasing way and we know we are
supporting the local economy too," he
said.
The Fettercairn 200 Club and the
commitment the highland distillery has
made to working with local businesses
and Scottish landowners, suggests the
whisky makers are determined in their
progression towards a holistic future
where whisky makers, farmers and
landowners work collaboratively in every
step of the whisky making journey, from
grain to glass.
You will find the current Fettercairn
whisky range
available from specialist online whisky retailers
such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop
and
Master of Malt
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