Spring is here and with it comes longer days and – hopefully – some warmer weather. And how better to celebrate the end of winter than by raising a glass of fine Scottish gin?
Over the past few years, Scotland has become renowned for its quality gins, made at distilleries across the country. Each gin offers drinkers something unique and would make the perfect gift for the gin lover in anyone’s life.
This list highlights some of the best Scottish gins on the market – and should be on your shopping list.
Enjoy earthy flavours with Persie Gin’s herby offering
This herby and aromatic gin offers the opportunity for a great gin twist on a Bloody Mary. The fragrance includes bay leaves, rosemary and basil, and would pair perfectly with a mix of tomato juice, sherry and Tabasco.
The savoury flavours are also great neat, perhaps with an olive or two or some torn basil to give it an Italian twist.
The family of three aromatic gins was developed by the man behind the world’s first touring gin club, Gin Club Scotland. After two years harvesting feedback from 4,000 gin-lovers, he found that for cracking gin, you need more than a nice taste. You need aroma. Persie Gin taps right into that, with each gin designed to stimulate your sense of smell up front.
The Glenshee distillery is open to the public from Saturday to Thursday between 12noon and 6pm.
Click here for more information.
Stirling Gin has nettles – without the sting
Stirling Gin started as a homemade creation in a small cooper pot still, ‘Jinty’, in a domestic kitchen in 2015.
Jinty was put through its paces for the following six months, as botanical after botanical was tried and tested, honing the combination.
Many a good friend and gin lover was recruited as part of the tasting panel, until it was agreed that Stirling Gin was ready to be set loose in the gin market.
At the centre of the recipe is Stirlingshire nettles – once an avowed enemy during many dog walks – as well as basil, lemon and orange peel, juniper and angelica root.
Stirling Gin has a big nose and is very enjoyable neat or with a premium tonic.
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Shetland Reel Gin gives tradition a shake up
Made at the UK’s most northerly distillery in Unst, Original Shetland Reel Gin is a traditional gin with many of the botanicals used in the great gins of the past, including juniper berries, coriander seeds, orris root, cassia bark and citrus peel, but adding a unique and distinctively Shetland twist in the form of locally-grown apple mint.
Just six months after its launch by The Shetland Distillery Company in 2014, this gin was awarded a Silver Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards. It also gained recognition at the Scottish Rural Awards with a Highly Commended trophy for Best Artisan Drink.
Original Shetland Reel Gin is widely available in the UK – see our website for outlet details – and comes in 70cl and 20cl bottles (RRP £32 and £13 respectively).
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Get a note of history with Gordon Castle Gin
Gordon Castle’s award-winning premium gin is handcrafted using botanicals grown in its very own Scottish walled garden, bringing an air of history and provenance in every sip.
Gordon Castle Gin is a crisp, elegant and refreshing gin with a lovely clean palate. There are subtle notes of lavender linger in the back of the nose and within the mouth. Garden mint comes into focus helping promote the clean and refreshing character.
The best way to enjoy Gordon Castle is to fill a glass with ice, add in the gin, a good sprig of mint and some fresh lemon and lime, and top up with premium tonic.
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Celebrate Mikkelmas in a glass
The Mikkel Feast, or the Feast of St Michael, was traditionally celebrated by Orcadians from the September 29 to October 12. This celebration marked the end of the harvest and the end of an Orkney summer. The tradition still exists today, with each island hosting its own Harvest Home, a traditional meal and dance that lasts long into the night.
Bold, seasonal botanicals are used to capture the warming autumnal and winter spirit of Mikkelmas, presenting a gin with smooth mellow juniper, hints of orange, vanilla sweetness and a mulled spice warming finish.
Mikkelmas is one of two seasonal gins produced by the Orkney Gin Company. Each is handcrafted to ensure full flavours and the highest quality end product.
Enjoy a splash of the ocean
Ocean Sent, the second gin from The Shetland Distillery Company in Unst, the most northerly island in the UK, is unique among craft Scottish gins in featuring native bladderwrack seaweed from the Shetland coastline.
Launched in November 2015, it is a London Dry Gin with a surprising depth of flavour that also makes a fabulous cocktail base.
In 2016, Ocean Sent was also awarded a Silver Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards.
Ocean Sent Shetland Reel Gin is widely available in the UK – see our website for outlet details – and comes in 70cl and 20cl bottles (RRP £32 and £13 respectively).
Look forward to midsummer with a glass of Johnsmas
Another offering from the Orkney Gin Company, Johnsmas is inspired by the long, clear days of an Orkney summer. During Johnsmas, the Orcadian midsummer, the sun barely disappears below the horizon. Traditionally marked by bonfires, this time of year is steeped in tradition and folklore.
The award-winning gin is fragrant, fresh and light and crafted using a variety of hand-picked seasonal botanicals from the islands and beyond to capture the clean and refreshing floral notes of midsummer. The end result is a sweet, smooth gin which nods towards citrus tones with a rose and heather finish.
Orkney Gin Company’s ‘bathtub style’ involves blending a variety of the finest botanicals with seven times premium grain distilled spirit – a modern take on a traditional method.
Ultra-small batches are filtered then carefully bottled and labelled by hand.
Put some zest in your life with Persie Gin
An explosion of limes and blood oranges – along with some piney notes – Zesty Citrus Gin is one of three offerings from new brand on the block, Persie Gin.
Great mixed half-and-half with tonic or sparkling water for a lighter flavour, Zesty Citrus is a great way to get in the mood for summer. Or to deepen the tastes, try it with a bit of torn mint and a thumbnail of lime peel.
The family of three aromatic gins was developed by the man behind the world’s first touring gin club, Gin Club Scotland. After two years harvesting feedback from 4,000 gin-lovers, he found that for cracking gin, you need more than a nice taste. You need aroma. Persie Gin taps right into that, with each gin designed to stimulate your sense of smell up front.
The Glenshee distillery is open to the public from Saturday to Thursday between 12noon and 6pm.
Try gin that flows like poetry with Makar Glasgow Gin
Award-winning Makar Glasgow Gin is carefully handcrafted in Glasgow’s first ever gin distillery.
Deriving its name from the ancient Scots word for ‘oet’, Makar aptly reflects the craft of the team of dedicated distillers.
Distilled in small batches in copper pot still, Annie, Makar is a juniper forward gin, entwined with seven other botanicals that are shipped to Glasgow from around the world to create the perfect balance.
The bright and robust flavour of Makar makes it perfect for gin-led cocktails, invigorating with tonic and a slice of mild green chilli – if you dare!
Makar is available to purchase (RRP £35) on the Glasgow Distillery website, from Tesco stores across Scotland or Majestic Wine Warehouse.
Rediscover your Viking roots with Kirkjuvagr
It means “Church Bay” in Old Norse and harks back to Orkney’s long connection to the Viking Empire.
Back when Orkney was emerging as a seat of power in the Viking Empire, the Norsemen would sail their longships into Kirkjuvagr, which over the centuries grew into the islands’ capital, Kirkwall.
When creating Orkney’s first gin, on the shores of that very same bay, that Orkney Distilling thought it fitting to seek out a connection to their Viking ancestors that ran deeper than just the name.
That’s when they discovered a local variety of Angelica brought to the islands by the Norsemen a thousand years ago.
Naturally, that same Angelica is now one of the gin’s defining ingredients, complimenting a unique blend of painstakingly selected botanicals that give Kirkjuvagr its distinct characteristics.
Reflecting the boldness of their seafaring Norse ancestors, the clarity of the seas and the purity of air, Kirkjuvagr is an inspired islands spirit that’s unmistakably Orcadian.
Find out why GlenWyvis truly is the community spirit
GlenWyvis Distillery is the world’s first 100% community-owned distillery with over 2,600 members from throughout the Highlands and far beyond.
Made in Shetland from a GlenWyvis recipe that features nine botanicals, including locally sourced Hawthorn berries, GlenWyvis Gin is playing a lead role in the revival of distilling in Dingwall.
With its smooth taste, GlenWyvis Gin is a unique Highland gin characterised by a fresh, clean, citrus finish.
Currently being built high on a hill overlooking the Highland town of Dingwall, GlenWyvis has historic roots, but is also highly innovative and will be 100% powered by renewable energy.
Whether you enjoy it neat; served with ice, orange, fresh coriander and tonic; or mixed in one of the great GlenWyvis cocktails, it is a historic gin playing its part in the rejuvenation of a Highland town.
Gilt offers the gold standard in gin
Strathleven Distillers distilled their first spirit on St Andrew’s Day, 2006, and became Scotland’s first craft distiller as a result.
Since the idea was hatched in a bar in Barcelona (Spain is one of the largest gin markets in the world) Gilt has grown to the point it’s now distributed throughout Scotland and Europe, as well as the USA.
Gilt has a citrusy aroma, with a dry palate completed by punches of juniper and cardamom that offers thirst-quenching warmth.
The team at Strathleven recommends drinking Gilt with a mix of pure elderflower, fresh lemon juice, lavender spice bitters, some muddled green grapes and a splash of prosecco, a cocktail they have dubbed the “Nothing Under Your Gilt”.
Go nutty over Old Tom Gin
One for the sweet toothed gin drinkers, Sweet and Nutty Old Tom Gin evokes the smells and flavours of vanilla ice cream, butterscotch sauce and almonds.
To turn it into a perfect digestif, fill a glass with ice and serve the gin with a splash of ginger air. Or muddle it with some root ginger to add a bit of heat and turn it into gingerbread finish.
The family of three aromatic gins was developed by the man behind the world’s first touring gin club, Gin Club Scotland. After two years harvesting feedback from 4,000 gin-lovers, he found that for cracking gin, you need more than a nice taste. You need aroma. Persie Gin taps right into that, with each gin designed to stimulate your sense of smell up front.
The Glenshee distillery is open to the public from Saturday to Thursday between 12noon and 6pm.
Try a gin with the heritage of Caithness
Rock Rose Gin hails from Caithness in the far North of Scotland, where local botanicals are hand foraged from the cliffs and forests, to create a truly exceptional gin with a unique flavour profile.
The gin is carefully and slowly distilled by hand at the Dunnet Bay Distillery by husband and wife team, Martin and Claire, whose goal is to create a spirit which showcases the heritage and provenance of Caithness.
The gin is flavourful and fresh, zesty but berryful thanks to a carefully selected collection of local and traditional botanicals, each one meticulously chosen to create the perfect taste.
In fact, its name comes from one of these botanicals, the Rhodiola rosea, which adds a delicate floral note to the gin.