Aberdeenshire-based Summerhouse Drinks launches a new product this week and the business is claiming a Scottish milestone.
Summerhouse which makes soft drinks on a farm at Peathill, near Fraserburgh, says its new tonic water – combining quinine from cinchona bark with citric acid and other natural ingredients – is the first to be produced north of the border.
Managing director Claire Rennie said: “We’re so excited to have launched Scotland’s first ever tonic. There’s a renaissance of gin drinking in Scotland and indeed the rest of the UK and we look forward to offering a Scottish alternative to the tonics already available.”
The new tonic water is named after Walter Gregor, a Victorian minister who served the historic Parish of Pitsligo, where Summerhouse Drinks is based.
Summerhouse Drinks was launched just over a year ago. Since then, the brand has successfully crowd-funded a Summerhouse van for events and trade shows.
It is a finalist in the non-alcoholic drinks category in the Scotland Food and Drink Awards, which take place In May, and was crowned winner of best new retail product for companies with less than 25 employees at the Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards in March last year.
In March this year, it was runner-up in the artisan drink category at the Scottish Rural Awards.