Scotch whisky producer International Beverage Holdings has finished a £4 million upgrade at its Balmenach distillery in Speyside.

The distillery, which produces around three million litres of alcohol a year for blended whisky, is also home to the company’s Caorunn gin.

The upgrade includes an anaerobic/aerobic digestion plant which “uses micro-organisms to break down the liquid co-products of whisky”, the company said. The process produces bio-methane gas which feeds a combined heat and power engine to generate power for the distillery and the grid.

International Beverage managing director Malcolm Leask said: ‘The completion of our £4 million project at Balmenach leads our ambition to decarbonise production and achieve industry leading standards of sustainability in the future.”

The company’s single malts include Old Pulteney, Balblair and Speyburn, and its blended Scotch is Hankey Bannister.