What is the Quiet Rebels series? Well let's start with The Quiet Rebels. They are our team of eco-conscious drink fanatics on a mission to bring together a new generation of Scotch drinkers.
More than half of us are based here on the Morvern peninsula and the rest are further afield, dotted throughout the UK including a few in London, and even one in Paris, to spread the word about Nc’nean far and wide.
The team’s roles all vary hugely from producing our delicious whisky, to marketing it, to selling it, to monitoring and improving its sustainability. But we are all united under the mission - to create delicious spirits with the planet we call home firmly in mind.
WHAT IS THE QUIET REBELS SERIES?
The Quiet Rebels series is a series of whiskies made up of limited edition releases that launch in the Scottish autumn each year (usually in October). Each year, one of these limited edition releases is curated by one of our team members themselves. Often maturation focused, the individual chooses their favourite casks to mature whisky in and releases the bottling under their own name. For example, Quiet Rebels Annabel, Quiet Rebels Lorna, Quiet Rebels Gordon, and Quiet Rebels Amy.
When the time comes, the latest Quiet Rebel (chosen in order of when they joined the company) sits down with our blender Matt to talk about their dream whisky so that it can be brought to life.
Matt asks the team member a bunch of questions about things like their favourite memories, smells, places and passions. These don’t all have to relate to whisky either, they might be a big port or wine fan, or feel strongly about organic farming or sustainability. All of these things are taken into account when Matt is information gathering.
Matt also can incorporate a blind taste test with lots of other whiskies, not necessarily Nc’nean, to get an understanding of what this Quiet Rebel really likes. He then goes away, sources casks for finishing already maturing spirit in, or picks some from our warehouse which already match the brief. Once the casks have all been chosen and blended together, that Quiet Rebel then gets to release their whisky to the world. Packaged up nicely with their very own name on the bottle and the gift tube.
WHY DOES THE SERIES EXIST?
Aside from shining a light on our awesome team, we want the series to promote the idea that there is a whisky out there for everyone. Many of our team were new to the whisky industry when they joined us, so their flavour profile might reflect something less traditional. We think it is important that the whisky world is as inclusive as can be, so that’s why we have a series dedicated to championing the diverse range of people that work in the industry.
QUIET REBELS QUICK FACTS
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The order of ‘who goes when’ is determined by when you join the company so it is nice and easy in chronological order.
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We haven’t got a plan yet for what to do if we have two team members with the same name!
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The Quiet Rebels whisky comes in our blue bottles which we use for the two limited edition series: The Quiet Rebels series and The Huntress series.
QUIET REBELS ANNABEL
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Tasting notes: almond biscotti, tropical fruit, coconut, toasted vanilla
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Cask mix: 64% ex-Bourbon, 22% ex-Tokaji, 7% STR red wine, 7% sherry hogshead
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Release story: This particular spirit was selected by our very own queen of spirits, Annabel. Back in 2013, Annabel left her job as a consultant in London to found Nc’nean. A trip to Islay, a famous Scottish whisky isle, inspired her to build a distillery on her parents farm on the west coast of Scotland - one that could lead the way in sustainable practices whilst creating light and delicious spirits. Then eight years on, Annabel bottled her whisky. The cream of the crop; her pick of her favourite barrels at the distillery which we have been tinkering with over the last few years.
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Availability: Sold out on our website and almost everywhere else but there a few places you can find a bottle if you are willing to splash a little extra cash, including Lochs of Whisky or occasionally a bottle will become available at auctions in places like Whisky Auctioneer.
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More info: Quiet Rebels Annabel batch details
QUIET REBELS LORNA
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Tasting notes: Banana bread, grapefruit, peach ice cream
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Cask mix: 84% ex-American whiskey, 16% ex-Pineau des Charentes
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Release story: The whisky in this release has been selected by our first ever team member, Lorna. Back in 2015, before our distillery was even built, Lorna left Perthshire and made her way up to the Morvern peninsula alongside her husband John, who had taken over as farm manager here in Drimnin. Lorna kicked off her career with us keeping all our builders fed and watered whilst the distillery was in its building phase.
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Availability: Sold out on our website and most other places but stocked in a few specialist spirit retailers like Vintage Roots.
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More info: Quiet Rebels Lorna batch details
QUIET REBELS GORDON
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Tasting notes: Crème brûlée, spiced plum jam, candied orange peel
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Cask mix: 74% STR red wine, 7% ex-Rivesaltes, 19% ex-sherry
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Release story: Gordon waved goodbye to one of Scotland’s whisky giants back in 2017, and made his way even further up the west coast to Morvern to lead our whisky production. Since then Gordon has been passing on his years of experience to our growing team of distillers, helping shape our team and our spirit as we know it today. As well as distilling, Gordon enjoys nothing more than being in the great outdoors for long walks with his dog Barley, or taking in the sights and scenery of Scotland with his family.
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Availability: Sold out on our website but available in select spirits retailers including The Leith Export Co.
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More info: Quiet Rebels Gordon batch details. You can watch the live recording of a Quiet Rebels Gordon tasting hosted by Annabel with Gordon and blender, Matt here.
QUIET REBELS AMY
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Tasting notes: lemon custard, damson jam, brown butter muffins
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Cask mix: 63% STR red wine casks, 19% ex-Maury casks, 18% ex-Bourbon casks
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Release story: The whisky in this bottle has been selected by our Head of Sustainability Amy. Back in 2018, when we began to open our distillery to the public, Amy left the flat lands of East Anglia to join our then very small team of Quiet Rebels, as visitor manager. Amy’s ambition was to follow a path which made a positive difference, to show people there are much better ways of producing the things we like to enjoy. Since then, Amy has been using her passion for the environment to build herself a new role as Head of Sustainability here at Nc’nean. From monitoring the carbon impact of our daily operations, to ensuring that we source the best materials as the company grows, Amy leads the charge in pioneering sustainable production here on the wild and beautiful west coast of Scotland.
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Availability: available to shop on our website here in the UK and here in the US.
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More info: Quiet Rebels Amy batch details
WHAT'S NEXT
Planning for the next Quiet Rebels release is well underway and we reckon it might just be our most interesting release to date... To keep in the loop with all future releases, sign up to our main newsletter here or if you are in the USA you can sign up here.