Arbikie Distillery, which is famous for creating the first ever climate-positive gin, will use the funding to open a 1,000 sq. ft. visitor centre. The centre, named the Arbikie Distilling Experience, is expected to open in Spring 2022 and is being created to meet the growing interest for more sustainable alcoholic drinks.

A portion of the funding will also be used by Arbikie for ongoing whisky development, including purchasing casks and stock for their 18-year old whisky which will be sold from 2033.

The gin, whisky and vodka maker is also aiming to hire around 30 new employees in the run up to the visitor centre opening to work in different areas including tasting, retail and waiting staff.

John Stirling, director and co-owner of Arbikie Distillery, said: “With the pandemic, our new Distilling Experience has been a long time in the works. But it’s given us the time to really focus on how we can show the public our field-to-bottle approach and why it’s so important.”

“The investment from HSBC UK will not only enable us to build a state-of-the-art visitor centre but also give us confidence in our 18-year old whisky.”

John D Robertson, agricultural director for north region at HSBC UK, said: “It’s great to work with businesses like Arbikie that want to make significant changes in their sector.

“The distillery experience will be able to act as a tool to show both customers and other businesses how clever thinking and innovation can help to build a sustainable company that can flourish for years to come.”

Rob King, HSBC UK’s head of sustainable finance, said: “HSBC has pledged to achieve net zero from our financed portfolio by 2050 and has committed to working with all our clients to help them on their journey to net zero. Supporting developments such as this will also help the UK as a whole in the transition to a lower carbon economy.”

Arbikie Distillery’s ‘field-to-bottle’ approach means that the produce from the farm is used to make the base spirits for the products, which are all created and aged on site.