Ice and sand sculptor, inventor, agricultural scientist, farmer, distiller – these are just a few of the titles on Renaissance man Peter Bignell’s remarkable resume. The founder and sole creative force behind the Belgrove Distillery, Bignell is unlike any distiller anywhere, and his distillery can almost certainly lay claim to being the world’s greenest operation – an incredible achievement given today’s climate. Here he talks about his unique approach, and the utterly unique spirits it creates.
Sustainability is at the core of the Belgrove Distillery, with nearly everything being recycled, reused and repurposed. How has this affected the way you produce your spirits?
Being a 5th generation farmer I understand that we need to treasure our fragile environment. Sustainability or even improvement is my challenge. With an ever-increasing population we cannot keep on plundering the earth’s resources so I look around me and find things that I can re-use or recycle.
It started out being a cheap option (I have Scottish heritage) but I soon realised that what I was doing was my little bit to ‘save the planet’. My distillery and farm run on almost 100% renewable energy – biofuel made from waste fryer oil – plus a small amount of hydroelectricity. With a tree plantation and increasing soil carbon from my rye crop residue, I am possibly carbon negative with respect to fossil fuel carbon. Using biofuel and re-purposed equipment does require a bit more time spent filtering oil and repairing breakdowns, but I consider it well worthwhile.
How do some of your unique processes build flavour into the spirits you create?
I guess the sum of my processes is unique, but most of the individual steps are done by others. The first step is malting the grain i.e. sprouting it to produce enzymes that convert the starch (flour) into sugar. Commercial malts are kiln dried which uses a lot of energy, whereas I produce my own ‘green’ malt; it is not dried and this produces a different flavour.
During mashing and fermentation I encourage an initial wild ferment which produces less alcohol but increases the complexity and fruitiness of the spirit. Distillation is by direct flame on the bottom of the still. The relatively intense heat causes a maillard reaction – this is what happens when you cook toast or grill fish. It produces a very different mouthfeel and taste. During the final spirit run I judge the ‘heart’ of the run by nose and taste. The alcohol content is of little concern, I just want great flavours.
Being a 5th generation farmer I understand that we need to treasure our fragile environment. Sustainability or even improvement is my challenge. With an ever-increasing population we cannot keep on plundering the earth’s resources so I look around me and find things that I can re-use or recycle.
How does your rye whiskey differ from most American rye whiskies?
Most if not all American ryes are by law aged in new oak barrels, I age mine in ex malt whisky or pinot barrels. Belgrove is 100% rye whisky which is not very common. Many rye whiskies are probably not much more than 60% rye. Most of the American whiskies are also made in stills that are heated with steam or hot water. This does not cause a maillard reaction. Most American stills use plated columns. As a result, they are much more efficient at producing alcohol but they very often produce less flavour.
You create a range of innovative spirits. How important is it to be experimenting and trying new things?
If I get stuck in a routine I tend to get bored. I am always looking for new things to learn and create. I am experimenting with alternative grains and techniques to make something unique. The sustainability ethos leads me to search out other products I could turn into rare and interesting spirits.
For example, I source surplus cider from local cideries and distil it and turn it into my Apple Hatchet and Pommeau. My surplus alcoholic ginger beer is distilled into the Ginger Hammer. I found espresso martinis made with my White Rye were very popular at promotions so I decided to make my own coffee liqueur, Black Rye, using White Rye and Belgrove Grappa as the alcohol base. It has become my fastest selling product. When I have a group of visitors to my distillery there are sometimes those who do not enjoy whisky, but because of these other products they usually find something they enjoy.
I am very passionate and hands-on with building expansion and making unique products. Others may prefer to open their wallets, be more arm’s length, and run it more as a business. I do things a bit differently.
What do you think other distilleries can learn from the way the Belgrove Distillery operates?
The first thing that is quite obvious is that I didn’t spend a huge amount of money to get started. Being a craft and micro-distillery we cannot compete on price, so we must produce unique flavours in our products.
Many start-up distilleries make vodka and gin to generate cash flow while waiting for their malt whisky to mature. I have kept away from those by producing apple, ginger and coffee liqueurs and spirits. Rye also has a cash flow advantage because it can be ready to drink in just two years. It has spicy and peppery notes which make it very acceptable when young.
I am very passionate and hands-on with building expansion and making unique products. Others may prefer to open their wallets, be more arm’s length, and run it more as a business. I do things a bit differently.