The original site was a derelict plot of land located in the Pentland Hills on the outskirts of Edinburgh up until 2011 when Husband and wife Hamish and Liberty Martin bought the site, which they transformed over several years to feature large greenhouses and plant beds with over 600 varieties of plants and herbs, a cafe, a shop and opened a distillery in 2017 which provided an opportunity to showcase some of many plants and botanicals grown on-site in the gardens.
In 2022, a new chapter began for the business as the Armstrong family, who had recently returned to Scotland from abroad, took over the stewardship. With a shared love for gin, plants, and the outdoors, the Armstrongs saw The Secret Garden as more than just a business opportunity. They saw it as a chance to nurture and build upon the founder’s goals and legacy, ensuring a seamless continuation of our journey.
The business ethos is ‘Rooted In Nature’, and the Armstrong family has continued to research and invest in making the business more sustainable and looking at ways to reduce its carbon footprint. In 2023, the gardens were connected to a water supply from an on-site borehole, which provides fresh, clean water for the greenhouses, gardens and distillery. Several bee hives in the gardens also help pollinate the many flowers, plants and botanicals. The hives also play a crucial role in helping support the UK bee population, which has been slowly declining.
The Armstrong family’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond their immediate operations. They partnered with Climate Springboard, a business support programme established by the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute. This collaboration has helped the Armstrong family develop a Carbon Planner, which measures the business’s carbon footprint and reflects their ambitions and goals to improve the sustainability of the gardens and distillery.
Rose Gin is a fragrant and floral Scottish Gin. It includes Apothecary Rose petals, carefully hand picked from the Secret Garden rose beds before being air-dried and prepared for distillation. Apothecary Rose petals are used exclusively in the first distillate, carefully blended with a second distillate that features juniper, coriander, angelica root, and winter savoury. The two separate distillations ensure that delicate, natural aromas and flavours are preserved. On the nose, sweet summer florals and distinct fresh, delicate rose. On the palate, juniper is balanced with rich, complex florals reminiscent of Turkish Delight. The finish is floral led with notes of rose and some underlying herbaceous, savoury notes.
Key Botanical(s): Apothecary Rose, Juniper, Winter Savoury
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: Some raspberries, a mint leaf, light tonic and ice.
Elderflower & Jasmine Gin is a floral and aromatic dry Scottish Gin. It includes a variety of hand picked botanicals from the Secret Garden, including elderflower and jasmine. These botanicals are featured in the first distillate, which is then carefully blended with a second distillate that features juniper, coriander, angelica root, and winter savoury. The two separate distillations ensure that delicate, natural aromas and flavours are preserved. On the nose, natural, delicate and sweet florals. On the palate, fresh and fragrant florals with a hint of sweetness and exotic fruits. The finish is clean and crisp with florals and subtle warming spice balanced with green herbaceous notes.
Key Botanical(s): Elderflower, Jasmine, Coriander, Angelica Root, Winter Savory
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: A slice of pink grapefruit, light tonic and ice.
Lemon Verbena Gin is a refreshing, citrus dry Scottish Gin. It includes a variety of hand picked botanicals from the Secret Garden, including lemon verbena, lemon melissa and lemon thyme. These botanicals are featured in the first distillate, carefully blended with a second distillate that features juniper, coriander, angelica root, and winter savoury. The two separate distillations ensure that delicate, natural aromas and flavours are preserved. On the nose, natural, fresh lemon and citrus with a subtle hint of herbaceous, savoury notes. On the palate a burst of bright, zingy lemon and citrus backed with juniper and savoury, green herbaceous notes. The finish is delightful with citrus and a hint of lingering lemon sherbet.
Key Botanical(s): Lemon Melissa, Lemon Thyme, Lemon Verbena
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: Lemon garnish, light tonic and ice.
Wild Gin is a herbaceous dry Scottish Gin and distilled using organic grain neutral spirit. It includes a variety of wild botanicals, each carefully foraged from the Secret Garden, including bog myrtle, nettle, sweet cicely, dwarf birch, sweet woodruff and winter savoury to create a taste of the wild, directly from the Secret Garden. Four other classic gin botanicals feature in the distillation, providing some classic gin flavours. On the nose, resinous pine and bright, fresh green aromas. On the palate, piney juniper balances with fresh, natural herbaceous notes with a subtle sweetness. The the finish is dry, crisp and fresh with herbaceous notes and a lingering, long finish.
Key Botanical(s): Bog Myrtle, Nettle, Sweet Cicely
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: A sprig of rosemary, light tonic and ice.
Lavender is a richly fragrant flower, known for its restorative qualities. The echinacea is a flowering daisy with delicate petals and a sweet scent. The combination of these botanicals, together with the base gin of juniper, coriander, angelica root and winter savory, creates a subtly fresh, herbaceous gin with floral notes. Thanks to the infusion of butterfly pea and rose petals, this gin also has some of Mother Nature’s wonder with its ability to change colour when mixed with tonic, changing from a light inky blue to an effervescent lilac colour
Key Botanical(s): Lavender, Echinacea, Coriander, Angelica Root, Winter Savory
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 39% vol
Goes great with: A lime garnish, light tonic and ice.
The backbone for this gin is juniper and coriander where the seeds and berries are lightly crushed. Angelica root and the subtler flavours of the Angelica leaf are used in conjunction with winter savory, a plant not dissimilar to Rosemary but with more gentle notes. These four botanicals are macerated before distillation and offer a smooth, elegant and light base gin, to which freshly distilled Cinnamon, Ginger and Cardamom are added, to capture the essence of Christmas. Finally, freshly-harvested poppy and mallow petals are infused to provide a soft, vibrant Christmassy colour.
Key Botanical(s): Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 39% vol
Goes great with: Orange garnish, light tonic and ice.
Spring Gin is part of The Secret Garden Distillery’s Seasonal range, designed to capture the essence of the season, exploring flavours, scents and seasonal plants. This release celebrates two of Spring’s magical delights: the dandelion and the honeybee. Spring Gin is a beautifully balanced clear gin, juniper-led with a slightly sweet finish on the palate. Lots of fresh herbal notes on the nose and hints of earthy spice. Spring in a glass.
Key Botanical(s): Dandelion, Honey
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 39% vol
Goes great with: A sprig of rosemary, light tonic and ice.
With Love Gin is a bouquet of rose, hand-picked from the distillery gardens. Hand harvested and dried on site, rose and geranium petals are then distilled and blended with the base gin on juniper, coriander, angelica root and winter savoury. The gin is described as being herbaceous in flavour with floral notes from the rose and geranium.
Key Botanical(s): Rose, Geranium, Coriander, Angelica Root, Winter Savoury
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 39% vol
Goes great with: A strawberry garnish, light tonic and ice.
Led by Head Distiller Mark Boswell, the entire distilling, bottling and labelling process is done on-site. The distillery houses two custom-built 100 litre copper pot stills manufactured by Svarog Sistemi. Visitors can observe the distillation process from the main tasting room, which features large windows overlooking the distillery. Visitors can also browse the shop and enjoy a bite to eat at the The Secret Garden Cafe.
Mark and the team take immense pride in using botanicals cultivated in the gardens. A team of dedicated gardeners hand-pick and delicately dry the flowers and some of the key botanicals used in each of The Secret Garden Distillery Scottish Gins, ensuring their optimal quality for future distillations. The quality of these botanicals is rigorously checked before use, guaranteeing the exceptional taste of the gins produced.
Tour: Yes
Cafe: Yes
Bar: Yes
Shop: Yes
Booking: Learn more about The Secret Garden Distillery experiences here
Learn more about The Secret Garden Distillery by visiting the links below.
