THE INVENTIVENESS of the food and drink trade never ceases to amaze – now we have Scottish peas figuring in everything from vodka to snacks!

Scottish farming family, the Stirlings, and their Arbikie brand, recently celebrated Sustainable Spirits Day with launch of its second climate-positive spirit, Nàdar Vodka.

This world-first vodka is crafted from a pea-based spirit originally developed for Arbikie’s unique Nàdar Gin – another which avoids more carbon dioxide emissions than it creates with a carbon saving of over 1.53 kg CO2e per bottle.

The humble garden pea provides the fuel for the distillation process at Arbikie and its master distiller, Kirsty Black, commented: “We’re always looking to think differently and by aligning our distillery production with activity of the farm.

"We are using our knowledge of growing and the vagaries of the changing Scottish climate, and indeed how these factors impact our growing season, to produce the finest spirits from some of the best agricultural land in the country.

"By shifting our focus to climate change and biodiversity loss we not only want to minimise our impact on the environment but also inspire and demonstrate to others the potential options available and how they might take advantage of these challenges.”

Director at Arbikie Distillery, Iain Stirling, added: “Arbikie is focused on becoming one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries, as both farmers and distillers we are in an ideal position to grow and distil our family of sustainable spirits.

"Sustainable products, particularly in the area of food and drink, are undoubtedly the future, and they will be the major economic driving force in the years to come, not just in Scotland, but across the world."

The second pea-based product – for a nibble with your creamy Arbikie vodka? – is Podberry, the UK’s first freeze-dried seasoned snack product made with Scottish-grown peas.

Its producers have secured two new listings across both Lidl and Co-op stores in Scotland. Launching in 104 Lidl stores last week for an initial two-week period as part of the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight. It will stock both Podberrys Sweet Chilli and Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar variants at a special price of 59p per pack.

Both varieties will also be in 30 Co-op stores across Scotland from November.

It's an exciting move for the brand, which is currently stocked in Morrisons, independents and available online.

The range has four different flavours and the snacks are made from peas frozen under three hours from harvest and then freeze dried – not fried. This means they pop into the crunchy, delicious snack you can see on shelves.

The four flavours are Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar; Sweet Chilli; Ham Hock; and the rather more exotic Parmesan and Truffle.