Whiskey and Blockchain - the perfect cocktail

Jillian Godsil interviews Alex Bruce, CEO of Aldephi Distillery. 

Adelphi Distillery Ltd has a new distillery based in Ardnamurchan, one of the farthest, most north-westerly corners of Scotland. Established six years ago the distillery practices sustainability in harmony with local farmers. Barley, water and wood chip (for its boiler) are sourced locally and the resultant mash fed back to the local cattle. Enjoying as it does a robust ocean climate, the Scotch whisky is flavoured by the Atlantic sea producing a unique maritime twang to the single malt. To top it all, Ardnamurchan Whisky is on the blockchain, providing provenance from the tip of Scotland to a tumbler of the amber liquid poured anywhere in the world.

CEO Alex Bruce was responsible for bringing blockchain to Adelphi, copying a food supply chain project involving pigs which really impressed him. Alex has been with the organisation for almost 17 years, the last six of which were as CEO. According to him he probably has the best job in the world.

Adelphi Distillery has a finite production cap, dealing as it does with sustainable inputs from local farmers. The beauty of adding blockchain as a layer of transparency and provenance was very appealing for Alex.

“I went, yeah, this makes sense for us. We only have limited capacity and we want to ensure our customers enjoy our authentic malt.”

Alex rolled out a pilot project in 2017 with a Belfast based software company called Arcnet. They funnelled all the data surrounding the production onto the blockchain.

“We listed all aspects of production onto our open ledger; fermentation, mashing, distillation etc and then we included dates, times and even personnel involved in each step of the process. There is a QR code on the back of each bottle which provides access to that data.”

Alex’s aim is for it to act as an internal ledger as well as a public one. From the early pilots, last year they launched the first Ardnamurchan Single Malt on the blockchain. Given as this happened during lockdown, tasting happened over zoom, sometimes beginning at 8am in the morning to cater for different time zones around the world.

“All 16,000 bottles have been allocated and they all sold out within a day of arriving in each country. It’s been amazing.

“Having the blockchain provenance is very important. We are not some anonymous warehouse but a boutique, premium distillery. Even the placename of our distillery smacks of character – Ardnamurchan means headland of the great seas. We have a unique product and blockchain helps us confirm this.”

After the successful launch in 2020, Alex is planning on launching all systems data onto the blockchain.

“For example, if during the production an operator adds 5 kilograms of yeast into the fermentation process, that is documented and stored on the blockchain. Before it would be saved on paper, now it’s on chain, which means when Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs audit our distillery we can be fully transparent. Same for our customers when they view the QR codes.

“We are even planning to include the suppliers of the wooden casks, the yeast supplies from Belgium, the provider of our corks and capsules – everything is recorded, everything is automated and eventually everything becomes much more simple for us.”

It is like our manta – Taste the Story – only now customers can view it too.

Jillian Godsil is an award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NS1LXG8