Fidra

Fidra Gin resulted from a shared love of gin between lifelong friends Emma Bouglet and Jo Birdie. Both had full-time jobs and busy family lives, but knew they were ready for a change in career after Jo’s husband Andy visited friends on the Isle of Jura, where the story of Lussa Gin greatly inspired him. Emma and Jo started foraging for potential gin botanicals around the coastline of North Berwick, building a library of local botanicals. They also bought a small five litre test still and began experimenting and developing various recipes. Once they had a flavour profile they both liked, Emma and Jo knew the next step would be working with a distiller who could upscale their recipe and help them navigate launching a new Scottish Gin. As luck would have it Emma and Jo had met Walter Micklethwait, distiller and owner of Inshriach Distillery, at a recent gin event. Emma and Jo knew Walter would be the perfect fit for the business and could provide invaluable guidance and support.

With Walter’s help to upscale the recipe and refine the edges, Emma and Jo officially launched Fidra Gin in September 2018 with the long-term goal of opening a Fidra Distillery one day. In 2022, Emma was presented with a dream job as a manager for Scotland’s Food & Drink County, promoting East Lothian’s food and drink brands and producers. After some lengthy deliberations, Emma decided the time was right to hand over complete control of Fidra Gin to her friend and co-founder Jo. Jo has continued to grow the brand and business with plans for future Fidra Gin releases and the goal of one day opening a dedicated Fidra Distillery in East Lothian.