Independent bottler the Heart Cut has revealed its 12th whisky bottling, which marks its first entry to Scotch. The new release is a collaboration with organic Highland distillery Nc'nean, based on the west coast of Scotland.
The Heart Cut's founders, Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leoni, selected Nc'nean to be their first Scotch whisky release due to their shared values of innovation. Nc'nean was founded in 2017 by Annabel Thomas, with aim to produce whisky "in harmony with the land". The B-Corp certified distillery produces its whisky with sustainability at its core, including using organic Scottish barley.
Bell commented: “We couldn’t be happier to collaborate with Annabel and the Nc’Nean team to launch our first single malt Scotch whisky. As a female-founded whisky business ourselves, we are delighted to partner with another woman making waves in the whisky industry and showcase the Nc’nean’s incredible, innovative casks.
“We love how elegant and fruity this pour is and how it perfectly compliments Nc’nean’s own bottlings. We can’t wait for people to try it and introduce them to a distillery they might not have experienced before.”
The new whisky, #12 Nc'nean Distillery, is a single-cask expression, matured in an ex-bourbon cask and finished in a Madeira wine cask, released in a run of just 391 bottles. Tasting notes shared by the Heart Cut highlight tropical flavours of papaya and guava, lemon, vanilla cream, malt biscuits, and peach yoghurt.
The Heart Cut was named Independent Bottler of the Year in the Icons of Whisky 2024, and received the title again in the 'Rest of World' round of the Icons of Whisky 2025 (global results will be revealed in March 2025). The brand's previous bottlings have included single malt whiskies from England, Denmark, and Oregon.
The Heart Cut #12 Nc’nean Distillery (54% ABV, RRP £63) will be available via theheartcut.com and select retailers from 11 February 2025.
