Quiet Rebels Simon and Sarah: Nc’nean releases two bold new spirits
Sarah and Simon Hewitt at Nc’nean with their Quiet Rebels release
Nc’nean’s annual Quiet Rebels series takes an unexpected twist this year as distillers Simon and Sarah Hewitt launch two very different creations — a stout-cask single malt and the distillery’s first ever oat-based whisky cream liqueur
Nc’nean Organic is fast becoming my go-to whisky of choice. I am growing somewhat concerned by the amount of it I’m getting through. But it’s not only that I’m quaffing plenty of if, I am showing it off to my non-whisky friends as arguably the best ‘intro’ whisky that I have come across. Its light, fruity spirit and soft texture make it the perfect entry into whisky. Combined with a uniquely feminine bottle, impeccable eco-credentials and the fantastic story of founder and eco-pioneer Annabel Thomas – there is plenty to talk around it too.
Each year Nc’nean produces a small-batch bottling under the Quiet Rebels label, created by a different member of the team in the order they joined. The idea is simple: give every employee a chance to design a whisky that reflects their own taste, story and character. “It’s the most fun I get to have every year,” says head blender Matt Hastings, who works with each ‘Quiet Rebel’ to bring their vision to life. “Every release is totally different because every person is different – their palate, their language, the way they think about flavour.”
Launched in 2020, the series has become a window into the distillery’s creative heart – a kind of liquid diary that captures what makes Nc’nean so unique: its people. Past releases have ranged from the delicately floral to the deeply rich, but this year’s editions are something special. For the first time, two members of the team share the spotlight: husband and wife Simon and Sarah Hewitt, who joined Nc’nean together back in 2019.
As Thomas says, “The Quiet Rebels series is about celebrating the people who make Nc’nean what it is. Normally we release one a year, in order of who joined the team. But because Simon and Sarah joined on the same day, this year we’re releasing both –and they couldn’t be more different.”
Different indeed. Quiet Rebels Simon is a stout-cask single malt that blends Nc’nean’s characteristic elegance with a rich, beer-influenced finish.
Both expressions tell you something about the couple who made them. Simon, one of Nc’nean’s longest-serving distillers and a former chef, describes himself as a “beer fanatic”. “I didn’t take the typical route into whisky,” he says. “I started out cooking, then spent years walking the length of New Zealand and North America – even picked up some beekeeping along the way. It’s been a winding path, but it’s led me to a role I really love. Working with casks and looking after the warehouse is where I feel at home.”
Simon Hewitt, shot by Matt Sills for Barley Magazine
Simon’s release is as full-bodied and complex as you might expect from a brewer’s whisky. Working with the iconic Scottish brewery Innis & Gunn, Nc’nean took its spirit – first matured in shaved, toasted and re-charred red wine casks – and finished it for three weeks in casks that had held Innis & Gunn’s oatmeal stout. In a pleasing full-circle twist, those beer casks had previously contained Nc’nean whisky.
The result is a deeply indulgent dram bottled at 48.5% ABV. It bursts with notes of chocolate brioche, coffee fudge cake and cherry jam, with buttery, bready undertones and a hint of spice. The finish is long and rounded, balancing the brewery’s rich malt character with Nc’nean’s signature lightness.
“Simon wanted a beer-finished whisky that was sweet, savoury and a little bit bready,” explains Hastings. “We kept the finishing short – about three weeks – because beer can overpower whisky if you leave it too long. What we ended up with was something that still tastes unmistakably of whisky but with that cocoa-like roundness you get from stout.”
The whisky’s texture is striking: full and velvety, yet not heavy. There’s a subtle malt sweetness that feels like a nod to Simon’s culinary past, and perhaps to the couple’s life in the Highlands – rich, comforting and unmistakably handcrafted.
Limited to just 6,894 bottles, Quiet Rebels Simon is certified organic, non-chill-filtered, and bottled at natural colour.
Quiet Rebels Sarah (left) and Quiet Rebels Simon (right). One couple, two distinctly different drams
If Simon’s creation builds on Nc’nean’s whisky tradition, Quiet Rebels Sarah breaks it entirely. Sarah, who leads the bottling team, couldn’t be more different in taste. “I’ve never really been a fan of neat whisky,” she admits. “Cream liqueurs, though – they’re just my thing.” So when her turn came to create a Quiet Rebels release, she knew exactly what she wanted to make: “a little indulgence for anyone, even if you don’t think of yourself as a whisky drinker.”
It’s not a whisky at all, but a whisky liqueur – and an entirely plant-based one at that. Crafted with Nc’nean’s organic single malt, organic demerara sugar, gluten-free oats and sunflower lecithin, it’s an oat-based, dairy-free cream liqueur that manages to be indulgent without being cloying.
“It’s full, glossy and luxuriously smooth,” says Sarah. “I wanted to make something velvety and rich that you can pour straight from the fridge over plenty of ice.” The tasting notes read like dessert: crème brûlée, spiced honeycomb and chocolate mousse, but it still carries the complexity of the whisky at its core.
At 20% ABV, this isn’t your typical after-dinner cream drink. It’s lighter on the palate, with a clean sweetness and a lingering whisky warmth that sets it apart from the supermarket staples. Hastings describes it as “a rich and creamy whisky liqueur that still tastes like whisky – presented in a more accessible, sweet and delicious way.”
Made in partnership with Young Spirits in Edinburgh, the liqueur is vegan-friendly and certified organic. Currently just 2,000 bottles are available globally but given the reaction to it so far, it seems unlikely this will be a one-off. “We think it’s very, very good,” Thomson admits, “and I’d love to make it something we could offer all the time.”
Simon and Sarah’s partnership is more than romantic – it’s professional, creative and deeply rooted in Nc’nean’s values. The pair moved from Oxfordshire to the remote Morvern peninsula – home of Nc’nean – in 2019, drawn by the distillery’s sustainable ethos and the wild beauty of the west coast of Scotland. They’ve made their home there, growing vegetables, hiking the hills, and immersing themselves in the rhythms of distillery life.
That sense of place comes through in both releases. Simon’s stout-cask whisky feels grounded in Scotland’s brewing and distilling heritage, while Sarah’s oat-based liqueur reflects the country’s agricultural roots and Nc’nean’s environmental conscience. Together, they showcase how a young distillery can both honour and reimagine tradition.
As Thomas puts it, “Whisky doesn’t need to be bound by old rules. The Quiet Rebels series lets us explore who we are as people, not just as a brand. Simon and Sarah’s releases sum that up perfectly – one steeped in whisky craftsmanship, the other rewriting what a Scotch-based drink can be.”
Quiet Rebels: The Nc’nean team with Annabel Thomas, Sarah and Simon, shot by Matt Sills for Barley Magazine
For those who haven’t followed Nc’nean’s rise, the distillery has built a reputation as Scotland’s most progressive whisky maker. Founded by Thomas in 2013, it began distilling in 2017 and launched its first whisky in 2020 – in the middle of a pandemic. Since then, its combination of organic barley, renewable energy and modern design has set new standards for sustainable production.
In 2021 Nc’nean became the UK’s first verified net-zero distillery for scopes 1 and 2, reaching its target 20 years ahead of industry goals. In achieved a B Corp recertification score of a whopping 147.6 this year – the highest of any distillery in the world. Everything, from its 100 per cent recycled glass bottles to its zero-waste operations, reflects the same pioneering spirit that drives the Quiet Rebels series.
In the glass, both new releases show how far Nc’nean has come – and how far it’s willing to go. Quiet Rebels Simon offers a big, satisfying dram that’s still unmistakably Nc’nean: bright fruit wrapped in dark chocolate and malt. Quiet Rebels Sarah is smooth, creamy and subtly complex – a whisky liqueur for people who normally say they don’t like whisky.
Together, they represent two sides of the same ethos: respect for tradition, but never bound by it. As Simon says, “I’ve always been drawn to the journey each cask goes on.” With these two bottles, Nc’nean proves that the journey of Scotch whisky itself is still wide open.
Nc’nean Quiet Rebels Simon is available from £80.70 and Nc’nean Quiet Rebels Sarah is available from £27.50
