Martin and Claire Murray and their four legged friend George established the Dunnet Bay Distillery in 2014 after a long held desire to return to their hometown of Caithness, Scotland’s most northerly county. Together with their Gin Still Elizabeth, they set to work perfecting their Rock Rose recipe.
Elizabeth and Martin cast a watchful eye and nose over the distillation process to create the finest taste for their spirits.
The Dunnet Bay Distillery team also includes Claire’s Mum Margaret, who rumour has it wax seals the bottles at an angle, and Martin’s Dad Rab, who wax seals the bottles straight, so you’ll know the next time you pick up a bottle who is responsible!
Rock Rose gets its wonderful flavour from a carefully selected and put together creation of local and traditional botanicals. Each one meticulously chosen for their flavour properties to create the perfect taste.
Key Botanical(s): Rhodiola rosea
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A sprig of toasted rosemary, a curl of orange peel, tonic and ice.
The higher ABV version of Rock Rose gives a strong warm pine release at the front of the drink with notes of lemon sherbet. The middle feel of the drink is very bold berries from the blaeberries, rowan and hawthorn. These give way to the deeper earthier notes that are hidden in the original Rock Rose, such as angelica and orris root.
Key Botanical(s): Blaeberries, Rowan, Hawthorn
Gin Style: Navy Strength
Strength: 57% vol
Goes great with: Sweet Vermouth and Campari in a Negroni cocktail, with orange slice and ice.
This extra special edition Scottish Gin is a follow on from the popular 2016 ‘Design a Rock Rose Gin Label’ competition. Botanicals include pink grapefruit peel, which is vapour infused along with other traditional gin botanicals. The gin is then lightly sweetened with muscovado sugar, which makes the gin an Old Tom style gin. The result is a gin with a wonderful fresh citrus flavour and a beautiful sweetness.
Key Botanical(s): Pink Grapefruit
Gin Style: Flavoured, Old Tom
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of grapefruit, tonic and ice.
Originally distilled as an exclusive edition for the Craft Gin Club in August 2020, it was so well received that the team decided to make it part of the core range. Their most experimental edition to date was inspired by the Caithness coastline and is distilled using locally foraged kelp from Shore Seaweed and liquorice salt from Hebridean Mustard Company. Described as incredibly smooth and delectably sweet gin with a delicious salted edge.
Key Botanical(s): Kelp, Liquorice Salt, Lemon Verbena
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of grapefruit, goji berries, tonic and ice.
This Smoked Orange edition is a credit to resident distiller, Craig Chalmers. Martin challenged Craig to take Rock Rose Gin into exploring an entirely different flavour profile, whilst remaining true to the distinctive notes of their original Scottish spirit. This release uses fine lapsang souchong tea to deliver smoky notes to enhance zesty organic orange peel. Complemented by tangerine sage and lemon verbena from the distillery geodome, this is a richly complex gin with a bright bonfire nose; a palate that wakes the taste buds.
Key Botanical(s): Lapsang Souchong Tea, Orange Peel, Tangerine Sage, Lemon Verbena
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Neat over ice.
The Spring Edition is distilled using ingredients foraged from the local area to give a cool, fresh taste to Rock Rose Gin. Gorse flowers bring a gorgeous coconut like aroma. Dandelion creates lovely earthy, liquorice flavours and helps balance out the sweetness. Coltsfoot from the distillery gardens helps provide more sweetness to the gin. The cardamom and water mint is also increased to help balance the ingredients and bring a real freshness.
Key Botanical(s): Gorse Flowers, Dandelion, Coltsfoot
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Fresh coriander, gorse flowers, tonic and ice.
The challenge was to make a citrus style gin using botanicals growing in the distillery gardens but with no peels! Lots of discussions and research took place with the distillery’s gardener, Hanna, and she planted, harvested and dried the botanicals that have gone into this Summer Edition.
Key Botanical(s): Lemon Balm, Clover, Pineapple Sage, Meadowsweet, Elderflower
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of lime, tonic and ice.
This Autumn Edition has been distilled using lots of locally grown botanicals as well as the traditional Rock Rose botanicals. It is bursting with blackberries and raspberries from Caithness Summer Fruits and blaeberries from the Dunnet area. Additional botanicals include Vietnamese coriander and nasturtium flowers, grown in the distillery’s very own geodome, adding to the spice of the gin.
Key Botanical(s): Blackberries, Raspberries, Vietnamese Coriander, Nasturtium Flowers
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A sprig of basil, tonic and ice.
The Winter Edition is a juniper led earthy gin with fragrant pine notes. The hero botanical in this Winter Edition is spruce tips, which Rock Rose gardener Hanna, collected in basketfuls. This edition has been created with thoughts of bracing walks, roaring fires and dark nights in mind. The original Rock Rose elements have been scaled down allowing the delightful earthy and slightly citrusy notes from the spruce tips to shine through.
Key Botanical(s): Spruce Tips
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A stick of cinnamon, tonic and ice.
Created in 2016 by Head Distiller Martin Murray, this gin was created in honour of Burn’s Night, the annual Scottish celebration of the life of one of Scotland’s most famous writers, Robert Burns. Inspired by the Moorland tea that he was said to enjoy, this limited edition gin features bilberry leaves, strawberry leaves, heather tops, speedwell and wild thyme, ingredients found in the Moorland tea recipe.
Key Botanical(s): Strawberry Leaves, Heather Tops, Wild Thyme
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of lime, tonic and ice.
This limited edition gin is the first in the Creative Collection series, each one with a uniquely designed label featuring works commissioned from artists based in the Scottish Highlands. A traditional juniper gin with notes of raisin, treacle and light spice. Contemporary artist Lindsey Gallacher created this unique artwork on a scratchboard layered with china clay and coated with India ink. The image, which shows a Caithness “wifey” making clootie dumpling in her kitchen, was then meticulously etched out using fine points and scalpels. Actual clootie dumplings, made by Co-Founder Claire’s mam, are placed in the vapour basket along with juniper, raisins and the additional spices of nutmeg and allspice. Limited edition now sold out.
Key Botanical(s): Raisin, Nutmeg, Allspice
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Tonic and ice.
This limited edition gin is the second in the Creative Collection series, each one with a uniquely designed label featuring works commissioned from artists based in the Scottish Highlands. An elegant and subtle gin with delicious juniper and a delicate blend of lavender and apples, which are sourced from the Black Isle. The team first distilled this as a special edition gin for the Craft Gin Club in 2014 and it was a real favourite so they decided to bring it back. After giving local watercolour artist, Liz O’Donnell, the very vague brief of ‘apple and lavender’ she produced this beautiful painting capturing the gin’s very essence. Limited edition now sold out.
Key Botanical(s): Lavender, Apple
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of red apple, tonic and ice.
This limited edition gin is the third in the Creative Collection series, each one with a uniquely designed label featuring works commissioned from artists based in the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by the rugged coastline and the drifting tides of Caithness. Distilled using sustainably sourced Scottish seaweed from Shore Seaweed, a company that specialises in seaweed. The gin also includes liquorice salt from Mustheb, an artisan producer of preserves based in the Outer Hebridies.
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Seaweed, Liquorice Salt
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of lime, tonic and ice.
This limited edition gin is the fourth and last in the Creative Collection series, each one with a uniquely designed label featuring works commissioned from artists based in the Scottish Highlands. Jam Doughnut Gin was created as a fun ending to a very limited and exciting series by the team at Dunnet Bay Distillers. Local artist Hannah Cambridge created a whimsical illustration to match the frivolity of the very last in the series featuring PERK Coffee & Doughnuts jam doughnuts, which actually made their way into the botanical vapour basket. Such a popular limited edition that it sold out within days!
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Jam Doughnuts, Madagascan Vanilla
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Fresh strawberries, tonic and ice.
This limited edition gin was created around Dunnet Bay Distillers co-founder Claire Murray’s favourite desert wine Sauternes. Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux, France. The cask was filled with Rock Rose Original and left to blend with the flavours that were embedded in cask. The result is a slightly sweet gin with delicious notes of honey, apricot and butterscotch. Only 380 bottles are available with specially created packaging to reflect the Sauternes cask that was used to age the gin.
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Angelica, Orris Root
Gin Style: Cask Aged
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Neat over ice.
This limited edition gin was created around Dunnet Bay Distillers co-founder Claire Murray’s favourite Christmas tipple. Rock Rose Original Gin was aged in an Oloroso sherry cask, imbuing some its rich flavours from both the sherry and Oloroso cask. The result is a complex gin that has notes of classic gin botanicals along with nutty sherry notes.
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Angelica, Orris Root
Gin Style: Cask Aged
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: Neat over ice or tonic and ice.
The North Coast 500 is considered to be one of the best coastal driving routes in Europe. At just over 500 miles, the route follows the coast of Northern Highlands of Scotland with the route starting and ending at Inverness Castle. This official gin for the North Coast 500 uses locally sourced fruit in the distillation to create a fruitier gin with sweet notes that are balanced out with herbs from Caithness to create a delicate, earthiness.
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Rowan Berries, Blaeberries
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A slice of orange, tonic and ice.
The Castle of Mey is located on the north coast of Caithness, six miles west of John O’Groats. The castle forms part of the Royal Estate belonging to the British Royal Family. Now under the stewardship of the Duke Of Rothesay, the caste and estate has its own range of Mey Selections food and drink offerings, all created to help promote and support local food and drink producers. Mey Selections Traditional Scottish Gin is distilled using botanicals that are sourced from within a 5 mile radius of the castle including sweet cicely, bog myrtle and apple mint along with other classic gin botanicals that can be found in some of Rock Rose’s other gin expressions.
Key Botanical(s): Juniper, Sweet Cicely, Bog Myrtle
Gin Style: London Dry
Strength: 41.5% vol
Goes great with: A sprig of mint, tonic and ice.
It’s considered to be one of the original new generation of craft distilleries in Scotland’s growing Scottish Gin sector, Dunnet Bay Distillery, home to the Rock Rose brand of Scottish Gin expressions. As the UK’s most northerly mainland distillery, Dunnet Bay Distillery is situated in the picturesque coastal region of Caithness on the North coast of Scotland in the village of Dunnet Bay. The distillery is home to Elizabeth and Margaret, the bespoke stills along with a shop and tasing room in a refurbished steading. The distillery also features a green house where seasonal botanicals are grown and used in a number of small batch, limited edition gins available exclusively from the shop.
Tour: Yes
Shop: Yes
Booking: Book a distillery tour here
You can learn more about the maker by clicking the links below.
