Immerse your senses in the fresh taste and aroma of rural north-east Scotland with this small batch gin that’s making a big impact.
Roehill Springs Distillery is a small artisan distillery, based in a building on a third generation family-run farm near Keith. Their signature small batch gin, No 5, is produced using the finest quality, traditional and locally foraged, botanicals and their own natural spring water.
Master distiller Duncan explains what makes Roehill Springs a must-have for gin connoisseurs, how the distillery came to life and what’s planned for the future.
Q. When and why did you start the distillery?
For some time, my wife and I have shared the pleasure of appreciating a nice gin. We found that some gins lead with juniper and have little else going for them and others are fruity or sweet but lack body. After five or six years searching for our perfect gin, I suddenly had a lightbulb moment.
I realised that, as I had worked as a stillman in a whisky distillery for 12 years, I had the knowledge and experience to make my own perfect gin! I treated myself to a small 30 litre copper pot still for Christmas and so the journey began.
Q. Why call your distillery Roehill Springs?
Our spring rises on land known as Roehill, historically named after the wild roe deer that roamed freely on the land and can still be seen grazing around the spring in the late evenings and early mornings.
Roe deer are elegant, graceful and rather secretive creatures. It seemed only fitting that we would call our new venture Roehill Springs Distillery.
Q. What makes Roehill Springs different from other Scottish gins?
Our gin is distilled using our own private natural spring water. We believe that this is a huge asset to us with regard to provenance but, more importantly, for the influence it has on the quality and taste of our gin.
We use the finest quality traditional and locally foraged botanicals and only capture the heart of the run. The heads and tails are never put back into the next charge of the still. Together with the spent botanicals, they are composted on the farm to grow next year’s crops. And we always choose quality over quantity.
Q. Different gins use different botanicals – how did you find your winning formula?
I knew from the outset the type of gin we wanted to create and how the flavour profile should develop in the mouth. It was just a case of engineering the botanicals into the structure required to achieve it.
Q. Why create your gin using traditional methods and equipment?
Working as a distillery technician in the heart of Speyside malt whisky country, I have seen first-hand how copper pot stills with their tall necks, encourage reflux, whereby vapour hits the cooler copper neck and condenses back into the pot.
Only the lighter fruity spirit goes over the top of the still into the condenser. Stillmen call this “the copper kiss”. My choice of still had to have these same principles in order to produce the gin that I wanted to create.
Q. What does the name No 5 mean?
We had created numerous trial batches, nosing and tasting them ourselves first, before offering them to friends and family for their feedback. Recipe number 5 came out as the clear favourite and so, after some pondering, we decided simply to call it Gin No 5!
Q. What customer feedback have you had about the gin?
We have been completely overwhelmed with the wonderful feedback conveyed to us.
We worked very hard on crafting our gin and we really wanted to ensure that our branding complimented the premium spirit we had created. Our branding has been hugely admired and the feedback received proves that it exudes the quality and class that our premium gin deserves.
We have a loyal band of returning customers who tell us they have found their new favourite gin and we have also managed to “convert” some customers who previously weren’t gin drinkers at all! Many comment on its smoothness and beautiful mouth-feel and tell us that they enjoy it best on its own with ice.
Q. Where do you deliver?
We deliver anywhere in the UK, typically within three working days, by purchasing online from our website.
Q. What’s your favourite way to enjoy your gin?
With ice, a slice of orange, premium tonic water, sunshine and friends!
Q. What’s next for the distillery?
We are very excited about the imminent launch of Roehill Springs Blue, the second gin from Roehill Springs Distillery.
We also plan to launch our Navy Strength Gin in the near future and hope to create a seasonal Christmas edition.
We will, of course, continue to promote our flagship Gin No 5. It is, after all, so indulgently refreshing!
