Kirsty Black: It started with beer - whisky came later
From a career in quality engineering to running what could be the world’s first hydrogen-powered distillery, Arbikie manager and master distiller Kirsty Black wants women to know they’re not alone in whisky.
Go for a drink with Kirsty Black and chances are she’ll opt for a pint. A keen home brewer, it was actually a love of beer that brought the now master distiller of The Arbikie Distillery on the east coast of Angus into the Scotch whisky stratosphere. “I was really into beer and beer drinking. The whisky came later.”
After her first career working as a quality engineer in the medical industry, she headed to Heriot-Watt University for her masters in Brewing & Distilling in 2012 with sights set on the beer industry. “I went there thinking that maybe I'd learn to become a brewer,” she muses. “But then we started learning about distilling and I was like, ‘No, hold on a minute, this is much cooler.’”
Fast-forward a decade or so and 2024 marks 10 years of Black working at Arbikie: first, as project manager for a year, before becoming distillery manager and master distiller for the farm-based distillery which also produces vodka and gin.
It’s not a career the modest Black ever saw coming: “I did not think when I was 17 that I would be spending my life making alcohol.”
The Arbikie Distillery: What is set to be the world’s first hydrogen-powered distillery
To be frank, Black had no idea what she wanted to do. Science was always an interest though which led her to study Plant Sciences at university. But the possibility of making drinks wasn’t as far away as she thought: having grown up on a farm, she spent her summers working in maltings. “Maybe that’s where it all began?” she ponders.
While studying at Heriot-Watt she worked at a couple of breweries and helped set up a gin distillery. That’s when she met the Stirling family: brothers John, Iain and David are the founders of Arbikie. “They offered me a job to start the distillery and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Putting down roots
Black has been with the Stirling family since the beginning, building the distillery on the Arbikie Farm Estate into one of the most sustainable distilleries in Scotland. From its farming ethos to being the world’s first hydrogen-powered distillery, Arbikie is a name synonymous with forward-thinking practices.
When it comes to the whisky, its focus on rye also sets it apart from its peers - indeed, Arbikie has been a leading force in bringing rye back to Scotland’s farming industry. Black has been there at every turn. “We are a very small team, and we all do a bit of everything,” she laughs. “So on any given day I might be helping in production or packing. It's always a very mixed day.”
Plant power: Black’s interest in botany and her love of gardening extends to her work at Arbikie
Working at the distillery is ‘beautiful’ says Black. The family-owned farming estate is where land meets sea, with Lunan Bay as the backdrop to the ‘busy little place’ that’s turning out award-winning spirits.
It’s a culture in which Black thrives: “I like the mixture and the hectic-ness of the work. You don’t know what you might be doing from one minute to the next. I’d get bored I think [otherwise].”
Good fortune
Having embarked on distilling as a second career, Black has realised in the process how fortunate she had been not to experience any career setbacks due to being a women up to that point. “I didn't realise how lucky or fortunate I was until I started working in whisky,” she admits. “At no point growing up or at school or working in medical devices (which is a very technical job) or even in breweries did anybody question what I was doing there.”
She recalls during the build of the distillery, that suppliers and contractors would come into the site and straightaway ask her if they could speak to the man in charge – and after being set straight, even questioning how she was qualified to be there. Ten years later and on her way to this very interview, she overheard someone quizzically asking what she does at the distillery.
“Now that I have been exposed to it, I appreciate that not everyone else is as fortunate as I was growing up. It’s important to let people see that this is a normal job for a woman to do - anyone can do any job, regardless of their gender.”
Room with a view: A stay at the distillery’s new ÖÖD Houses offers scenery with a side of modern luxury
Black’s appreciation for the need to support women working in whisky has led to her mentoring two women through the OurWhisky Foundation Mentorship Programme. “I’ve seen firsthand what a bit of support and confidence can do for someone. For me, it's really just demonstrating that anyone can do anything they want, if they're just given that little bit more support. The Foundation really demonstrates what's possible by connecting folk who have a dream or a goal with someone who’s already doing it.”
The Demeter Collection
Arbikie’s lot for the Demeter Collection will help support more women through the programme. Alongside a behind-the-scenes tour of the distillery and tasting with Black, the purchaser will also be able to fill their own bottle of rye whisky (a choice of column or pot-distilled) which will be accompanied with a box signed by Black.
“When we make our single grain we do two different distillation techniques to try and capture different essences of the grain - pot still for a heavier spirit, column still for a lighter one,” she explains. “For our core product we mix the two, but for this we're going give the people coming the option of trying them both individually, so they can take them from the cask, see what they like, and they can choose which they'd like to bottle.”
They will also get the chance to stay in one of the distillery’s new luxury on-site ÖÖD Houses for two nights, meaning plenty of time to explore the estate. “We feel that to really understand Arbikie character you need to stay and experience it.”
Whoever wins when the hammer falls will sleep soundly knowing their purchase is helping women in whisky feel, like Black, like they belong. “Being part of the Foundation means mentees can speak to people who are going through the same thing as them,” affirms Black. “My most recent mentee said she felt really alone. I'm like, ‘Trust me - you’re not.’”
The Demeter Collection auction will run 29 March - 8 April 2024 at whiskyauctioneer.com.
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