Hannah Mitchell

As their new UK Sales Manager, I'm thrilled to be joining Arbikie Distillery and Highland Estate, a remarkable, family owned Scottish producer. What truly sets them apart is their unique "field-to-bottle" philosophy. They cultivate their own crops on their sprawling 2,000 acre estate overlooking Lunan Bay, giving them complete control over every step of the spirit making process, from farming to the final bottling. Arbikie is a genuine pioneer in sustainability, with a strong ambition to become one of the world's most environmentally friendly distilleries. They're already producing climate positive spirits like Nàdar Gin and Vodka, made innovatively from peas, and they're committed to using solar power and transitioning to green hydrogen. Their sustainable ambitions also extend to using ugly potatoes and wonky strawberries for their vodka and recycling all distillation waste. The distillery boasts a deep history, with farming roots stretching back to 1660 and distilling records from 1794. They're renowned for their diverse and premium range of spirits, including the revival of Highland Rye Scotch Whisky, inventive potato vodka, and various gins crafted with unique local botanicals. My role will be pivotal in expanding the reach and success of these exceptional, sustainably produced spirits across the entire UK market.

An incredibly insightful and deeply personal journey into myself and my career. The OurWhisky Foundation aims to support women working within the Whisky industry and I was lucky enough to join the 2024 cohort of mentees. Working alongside my dedicated mentor, Kirsty Taylor, I have learned to be fearless, to accept help and support and to understand myself better. A highlight was joining The Power Room sessions which focused on facing ways I self sabotage and how to overcome these. Thank you to all my other mentees, to my mentor and of course to Becky Paskin, Millie Milliken and Samantha Staniforth.

As a laboratory intern, I developed, adapted and perfected the learning material used within the teaching labs. I also provided material for the department website. As part of a team within the University, I ran multiple workshops targeted at children and disadvantaged young people from all over Edinburgh, enabling them to experience programming, lab skills and opticsand photonics applications.

This postgraduate degree covers subjects from raw materials and fermentation to chemical engineering, packaging and business aspects. This is accompanied by laboratory experience in the biochemical and microbiological aspects of brewing and distilling, especially cereals, including malting and fermentation. I am a member of the IBD as well as Heriot Watt's Brewing and Distilling society. I also enjoy home brewing!

This degree covers subjects including dynamics, electromagnetic fields and optics. These areas lead onto the quantum world of subatomic particles, the unique nature of laser light, and the challenging ideas of quantum physics and astrophysics. Mathematics also plays an important part in understanding physical concepts in more depth. The course also offers various topics, including Laser Physics, Photonics, Semiconductor Physics, Instrumentation, Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particles.