In a bold move to embrace sustainability, Stirling Distillery, one of Scotland’s smallest whisky producers, is exploring the possibility of selling its small-batch malt whisky in aluminium bottles. This unconventional approach challenges the industry’s deep-rooted traditions and aesthetics, but the distillery is determined to lead the way in reducing its carbon footprint.
Situated under the walls of Stirling Castle, just miles from the historic Bannockburn battlefield, Stirling Distillery is collaborating with scientists at Heriot-Watt University, the only UK university department specialising in both brewing and distillery research, to test the viability of aluminium packaging for its premium whisky.
Aluminium, a ubiquitous material in the food and drink industry, has long been shunned by whisky distillers, who heavily promote claims about tradition, provenance, and aesthetics. Whisky enthusiasts, who often pay upwards of £100 per bottle, are also perceived as being too conservative to embrace this innovative approach.
However, Kathryn Holm, the marketing director for Stirling Distillery, believes that younger consumers, who are increasingly conscious of environmental impact, could be drawn to the promise of greener credentials. “Younger consumers, fewer of whom now drink alcohol, could be motivated by promises of far better green credentials,” Holm explains.
While Scottish distillers have boasted about their shift to renewable energy and biomass, glass remains a significant part of the industry’s carbon footprint, with a full-size bottle weighing as much as the whisky it contains. Aluminium bottles, on the other hand, can be 90% lighter and much thinner, reducing shipping costs and energy consumption, while also being more readily and easily recycled.
Researchers at Southampton University have found that the environmental footprint of recycled aluminium consistently outperforms both new and recycled glass, as well as plastic bottles, in terms of sustainability.
“At the moment, it’s quite difficult to get anyone’s head around paying £100 on a whisky and it arrives in an aluminium bottle,” Holm acknowledges. “But this could be done well, and then give people the option of sustainable packaging.”
The testing process, however, has not been without its challenges. While students at Heriot-Watt University were unable to detect any difference in aroma between whisky held in glass or aluminium, laboratory tests using an electron microscope found traces of aluminium had leached into the whisky, raising potential health concerns.
The researchers believe the issue may be related to the stronger, higher-alcohol (49% ABV) whisky used in the tests, which is more acidic than gin or vodka. They plan to conduct further testing with better-lined aluminium bottles and longer-term evaluation to determine the viability of this innovative approach.
As the industry faces increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint and respond to changing consumer tastes, Stirling Distillery’s pioneering efforts are being closely watched. “There’s definitely a sea change, a range of factors influencing behaviours, and how the Scottish whisky and spirits industry comes out at the other end is going to be very interesting to see,” says Ron MacEachran, the executive chair of Harris Distillery.
