City of Aberdeen Distillery is the first legal distillery in Aberdeen for 80 years. Although the doors officially opened in December 2019, the idea for the City of Aberdeen Distillery goes back to 2013 when friends Alan Milne and Dan Barnett got chatting about beer and spirits. The friends, who both had a shared love of wine, beer, gin and spirits and met through the Aberdeen University Wine Society, felt it was about time Aberdeen had a distillery to call its own; a place that could produce gin and spirits that was influenced by the local area, could include Aberdeen’s heritage and history but with a sprinkling of fun, humour and of course Doric, the local dialect.
Based in a former store house in an arch under Aberdeen’s main railway line, Alan and Dan took the empty space and have fitted it out to accommodate both the distillery and gin school. With a number of mini-stills, visitors can enjoy a range of experiences including tours, tastings and can also turn their hand to making their own gin. One of the distillery’s mantras is “Made for Aberdeen, by Aberdeen” – with a number of Scottish Gin expressions available, along with a number of distillery exclusives, The City of Aberdeen Distillery is proud to be reviving Aberdeen’s lost distilling heritage.
Currently the distillery's signature gin; it's described as classic yet vibrant, uplifting and refreshing. They distil using organic grain neutral spirit in small batches, typically every two weeks, using hand prepared fresh citrus, Macedonian juniper together with a number of other botanicals to achieve a fresh flavour and maximum refreshment. This gin is described by the distiller as, "gin as it's meant to be".
Key Botanical(s): Moroccan Coriander, Bitter Orange, White Grapefruit
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 42% vol
Goes great with: A slice of lemon, light tonic and ice.
Chamomile, rose and blue mallow flowers join with the traditional gin botanicals to give a luxuriously smooth and floral gin. A sensation of caramelised apple and soft subtle pepper which then blossoms into sweet fragrant rose.
Key Botanical(s): Chamomile, Rose, Blue Mallow Flowers
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 40% vol
Goes great with: Tonic and ice.
This deliciously different gin was created to provide a fun, sweet, yet sugar-free, rich and full flavoured gin for visitors to the distillery. The team has created a number of small batch demi-john style gins, which they're serving to distillery visitors and gin school pupils, providing fantastic feedback to the distillery team. This gin received such high praise from visitors that the distillery decided to bottle it and sell as one of their core gins. To taste, there's an initial mint freshness, followed by waves of sweet, long lasting chocolate notes. Described by the distiller as "The modern (adult) version of an after dinner mint."
Key Botanical(s): Peppermint, Cacao
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 40% vol
Goes great with: A sprig of mint, tonic and ice.
Aromatically fruity Scottish Strawberries, smooth pepper from Grains of Paradise, an earthy sweetness of Ginseng, and the traditional gin botanicals all combine to make this lively, uplifting gin.
Key Botanical(s): Scottish Strawberries, Grains of Paradise, Ginseng
Gin Style: Flavoured
Strength: 40% vol
Goes great with: Fresh strawberries, tonic and ice.
The distillery and gin school are housed in a discreet railway arch just south of Aberdeen’s famous granite mile, Union Street. Located a short distance from the River Dee, the former railway arch once stored goods that arrived by boat at the local harbour before being transported to the arch for storage. The distillery space features a working distillery along with the City of Aberdeen Distillery Gin School, where visitors can enjoy a gin making experience. Tours, tastings and gin making classes also provide the chance to learn more about the history of distilling and gin making, samples from several demi-johns filled with the distillery’s current experimental series of gins, and the chance to discover more about the co-founders Alan and Dan’s journey into the world of distilling.
Tour: Yes
Gin School: Yes
Shop: Yes
Booking: Book a gin school experience or distillery tour here
You can learn more about the maker by clicking the links below.
