The Biggar Gin Co.

With stone and Bronze Age artefacts discovered on the hills surrounding the Scottish town of Biggar in South Lanarkshire, the area has provided shelter to people for an estimated 2,000 years. A lot has changed since this first settlement, with notable Scottish kings recognising the importance of the area, including King David I in the 12th century and Robert the Bruce in the 14th century. Mills, including the Edmonston Mill and The Old Mill, Broughton Ales brewery, agricultural trade, the Biggar Gasworks, and smaller industries, all contributed to the town’s and local areas’ growth and development into an important market town by the early 1800s. The introduction of a railway stop in 1860 allowed visitors from Glasgow and the Scottish central belt the chance to holiday and experience a taste of rural life. The town of Biggar has continued to grow, evolve, and continues to inspire its residents and visitors.

The local landscape, featuring rolling green hills, fresh water rivers, and lochs, along with the area’s history and heritage, provided the inspiration for brothers Stuart and Euan McVicar to start their own Scottish Gin brand, The Biggar Gin Company, which originally launched its signature Biggar Gin in April 2018. Neither Stuart nor Euan came from a background in the drink or distillation industry; Stuart worked in software development and IT, and his older brother, Euan, specialised as a lawyer in green infrastructure investment. However, both Stuart and Euan shared a love of spirits, food, drink, nature, botanicals, flavours, aromas, and over a gin and tonic, discussed the idea of starting their own Scottish Spirits brand and distillery.

The starting point for Stuart and Euan was a name, a brand, and a guiding ethos. The name The Biggar Gin Co. made sense from the start, a small Scottish spirits brand that would punch above its weight in the world of Scottish Gin and spirits. The brand, featuring a logo of a greyhound, was inspired by the Biggar Coursing Club, which began in 1821 and organised local greyhound races. This became an opportunity for the local gentry to meet and socialise, often involving a bottle or hip flask of whisky or a homemade spirit.

By 1868, Greyhair coursing had declined in popularity, at which point the club evolved into a social club. The membership fees that once supported the club’s operation would now be used to purchase spirits and fine wines, which would be stored in the cellar of the club’s headquarters at the Biggar Corn Exchange, with the club eventually becoming a club for connoisseurs of fine wine and spirits. The legacy and symbolism of the greyhound have a direct link to both the area’s past and its growth, evolution, and connection to people who enjoy socialising and premium spirits.

As for the ethos, Stuart and Euan adopted the ‘Biggar Mentality’. Like the town, the people and area, it may be rural and small compared to some other rural parts of Scotland; however, it never stopped the people of the area from introducing changes that helped revolutionise the town and region, with one example being the introduction of the Biggar Gas Works in 1836 which produced coal gas for domestic and commercial lighting, heating and cooking. The Gas Works building remains, now a museum and the only preserved gas works in Scotland.

Like many other Scottish Gin brands, Stuart and Euan opted to work with a third-party Scottish distillery that collaborated with the brothers on their recipe development and production. This option allowed Stuart and Euan to ensure quality and consistency across the different batches of their signature Biggar Gin. It also allowed the brothers time and space to grow their brand and business, while also enabling them to carefully develop plans for building a distillery. Alongside their signature Biggar Gin, the brothers also introduced a range of new Scottish Gins, including their Biggar Strength navy strength Scottish Gin and a seasonal Biggar Plum Gin made with locally grown in-season plums.

Stuart and Euan opened ‘The Stillhouse’ in 2021 as the brand home and distillery for production of the Biggar range of Scottish Gins and spirits, overlooked by the mighty Tinto Hills, one of the most recognisable and beloved natural landmarks in South Lanarkshire. The distillery is home to two gas fired 100 litre traditional Portuguese Alembic copper stills manufactured by Hoga. One is still dedicated to Scottish Gin production, while the other is used for rum, brandy, and the creation of other Scottish spirits. Along with distillation, recipe development, filling, bottling, and labelling, the distillery also offers a range of visitor experiences. The surrounding gardens have been planted with a range of botanicals and fruit trees that will provide Stuart and Euan with a range of potential gin botanicals grown on the doorstep of the distillery. The water used in the distillation process also comes directly from the distillery’s water borehole.

From the idea of creating a Scottish Gin and spirits brand to operating a distillery and undertaking all production, Stuart and Euan have overcome a range of predicted and unforeseen challenges to bring a taste of Biggar to the world. Stuart and Euan would both say they managed to get to where they are thanks to a lot of hard work, taking risks, and focusing on crafting Scottish Gin and spirits that are not only made with care, passion, and attention that tell a story, but underpinning it all was their ‘Biggar Mentality’.