The idea for Hills & Harbour Spirits (formerly Crafty Distillery) came about in 2013 when brothers Graham and Stephen Taylor were sitting and chatting about the world of whisky over a dram one evening. Thanks to their father Billy, whose tipple of choice was whisky, Graham and Stephen discovered the nuances of the spirit and how the cask and climate could influence the liquid in their glass. The brothers’ conversation that evening also highlighted that there were no local distilleries around their hometown of Newton Stewart, a small market town in the southwest corner of Scotland.
The idea of establishing a distillery stuck with Graham, and he spent the next two years balancing his busy job as a Creative Director at a successful advertising and marketing agency, raising his young family and putting together a business plan for the distillery. In 2015, Graham secured a site and planning permission for a site on the outskirts of Newton Stewart. The site featured panoramic views over the local landscape and would become one of the defining features of the Crafty Distillery. Another defining feature of the distillery was that Graham wanted to create the alcohol used in the distillation of the spirits produced to be made at the distillery from scratch, using locally sourced crops.
While construction of the distillery got underway, with the help of Graham’s dad, who just happened to be in the building trade, Graham brought in an old school friend, Craig Rankin, to help with the distillation and operations. Craig had built a career in the hospitality sector, initially working as a chef before moving over to the management and operations side and had been responsible for running a number of premium boutique hotels, bars and restaurants across the UK.
Craig and Graham spent close to a year and a half researching fermentation, distillation, and crop types before testing out their process. Eventually, they created a base alcohol with the right qualities. Craig was also responsible for developing the signature Hills & Harbour Scottish Gin, spending 14 months developing 90 recipes. Craig and Graham also asked for the local community to be involved, sending out three potential gins to 400 locals for their feedback, with one recipe that featured locally foraged Noble Fir needles from the local forest and Bladderwrack seaweed from the coastline, standing out as a firm favourite. The recipe for the Hills & Harbour Scottish Gin was complete with some final refinements.
The original Crafty Distillery officially opened its doors in 2017. It featured the Tree Bar and Cafe, shop, and working distillery, where all spirits are produced and bottled, including all the equipment used to create the Crafty Distillery base spirit. The distillery offers a variety of visitor experiences. Since 2017, Graham and Craig have introduced several other spirits to the Crafty Distillery range, including vodka, a pre-mixed cocktail, a series of limited edition Galloway Gins, and the production of their first whisky.
A lot has changed at the distillery since it opened its doors with the creation of new jobs, a new look bottle introduced in 2021 along with current plans for a distillery expansion to accommodate the demand for Crafty Distillery spirits. Throughout everything, Graham and Craig have stayed true to the original goals of creating spirits that showcase the local landscape, honour Scotland’s rich distilling heritage, and push the boundaries of what modern craft distillery and brand can achieve.
In September 2025 Crafty Distillery evolved to become the Galloway Distillery under the new ownership of Sam Heughan and his business partner, friend and collaborator Alex Norouzi, with Graham, Craig and the team remaining in post to maintain day to day operations as well as helping grow and develop the newly named Galloway Distillery.
Hills & Harbour Gin is the signature Scottish Gin from Hills & Harbour Spirits (formerly Crafty Distillery). It features original base alcohol crafted by the team at Galloway Distillery using local grain. The distillation features eleven botanicals to stimulate the palate with sour, sweet, bitter, salt and umami.
Botanicals include bay leaf, bladderwrack seaweed, dried mango, green Sichuan peppercorns, noble fir needles, and classic gin botanicals like juniper and coriander. Both the bladderwrack seaweed and noble fir needles are locally foraged.
On the nose, fresh pine and aromatic spices with coastal notes. On the palate, juniper is commanding with rich piney forest notes balanced with tropical fruit, citrus and spices. On the finish, rich spices, tangy citrus sherbet and some coastal flavours.
Hills & Harbour Gin comes in a bespoke glass bottle, introduced in October 2021, that is 30% lighter than the previous bottle. The custom bottle also features an innovative 100% natural cork and wood stopper that doubles as a spirit measurer, a world first in the world of spirits.
Key Botanical(s): Bladderwrack Seaweed, Juniper, Noble Fir Needles
Gin Style: London Dry Scottish Gin
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: A slice of fresh mango, tonic and ice.
Galloway Gin from Crafty Distillery is a yearly limited-edition series of unique and original Scottish gins, with the first in the series released in 2018. This original 2018 release was a world first for Scottish Gin as it featured a base spirit made at Crafty Distillery using locally grown crops and locally foraged Scottish botanicals. Each edition features 100% Scottish foraged botanicals and an original Scottish base alcohol crafted by the team at Crafty Distillery using locally grown grains.
Galloway Gin 2024 Edition features a range of carefully foraged and selected botanicals to create a one-of-a-kind Scottish Gin. Chanterelles, crab apples, Crafty Estate elderberry, Scottish juniper, raspberries spiral wrack and sweet cicely. The result is an original Scottish Gin flavour profile that captures a taste of Galloway's hills, coastlines and hedgerows. On the nose, fresh apples, herbs and florals. On the palate, piney forest notes and stand-out juniper with a delicious savoury note blend with earthy herbaceous notes that transition through a slightly sweet, red berry note. The finish is tart with zingy crab apples that develop into a crisp, clean drying note.
Galloway Gin releases include: 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Key Botanical(s): Chanterelles, Crab Apples, Scottish Juniper
Gin Style: London Dry Scottish Gin
Strength: 40% ABV
Goes great with: A few raspberries, tonic and ice.
The Crafty Distillery is a modern, contemporary distillery that produces a variety of craft Scottish spirits and was designed by co-founder Graham Taylor and his dad, with the project initially starting in 2015 before completion in 2017. From the distilleries, raised elevation on a clear day provides a majestic 180 degree panoramic view over the Dumfries and Galloway countryside. With various tours, tasting events and private hire available, a visit to the Crafty Distillery provides the perfect opportunity to discover more about the people, the products and the stories behind this modern craft spirits distillery.
Tour: Yes
Bar: Yes
Shop: Yes
Booking: Learn more about Crafty Distillery experiences here
Learn more about Hills & Harbour Spirits by visiting the links below.
