Arbikie Highland Estate is a 2000-acre farm overlooking the white sands of Lunan Bay with the Angus hills to the west. The Stirling family has owned the estate for over four generations. The fertile red soil of Angus is among Scotland's seven most fertile lands, and there were records related to distilling here as early as 1794. Between 2013 and 2014, three brothers from the Stirling family—Ian, John, and David—built a craft distillery. Both the pot and column (continuous) stills are from Carl (Germany's oldest still manufacturer), used to produce malt whisky, gin, and vodka. All spirits are initially made in pot stills, after which the vodka (made from potatoes, also the base ingredient for gin) is rectified in column stills. This is a classic case of "vertically integrated" operation: raw materials such as barley and potatoes are grown on the farm, water flows from the hills to the west into a subterranean lagoon, and bottling and labeling can be completed within the distillery building, which is housed in a renovated cowshed. Both Kirsty Black and Christian Perez are graduates of Heriot-Watt University's Brewing and Distilling program, and the two are responsible for the distillery and all its products. Arbikie launched Scotland's first potato vodka in 2014, an "ultra-smooth" vodka made from three types of potatoes: "Maris Piper," "King Edward," and "Cultra." Subsequently, Arbikie introduced Kirsty's Gin, made with local botanicals. At the end of 2015, the distillery launched a chili vodka, adding Chipotle chili (from Fife) to the same base spirit. In January 2018, the distillery released its first batch of locally grown rye whisky, containing 51% rye and 49% malt, with a total of 355 bottles released, and the proceeds from sales were donated to charity.

Ardbeg is determined to continue growing all the raw materials used for alcohol production, hoping to create some 'limited seasonal editions' that reflect the local growing season. The distillery's still is equipped with a downward-sloping lyne arm and a switchable purifier, and the combination of the two allows the distillery to produce a range of different styles of spirit.