The Teasmith Spirits Company was established in 2016 by Nick and Emma Smalley, a husband and wife team from Udny, Aberdeenshire. Both Nick and Emma were gin drinkers and enjoyed sampling and discovering the many new Scottish Gins. They found at least one new brand of Scottish Gin every time they visited their local bottle shop. Excited by the growing range of brands and products, the couple set the wheels in motion and started researching local history and characters.
In 2015 Nick and Emma came across the story of Aberdeenshire native James Taylor, credited with establishing the first tea plantation in Sri Lanka in 1867. James eventually earned the title of “Father of Ceylon Tea”. Nick and Emma came up with using Ceylon Tea as a key botanical in their Scottish Gin as a tribute to James Taylor.
Nick and Emma worked with the distilling at Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire. Together, they started distilling different variations of hand-picked Ceylon tea leaves to discover how the flavours and aromas from each type of tea might translate into flavours and aromas in a gin. Nick, Emma, and the distillery team then developed a range of recipes featuring a line-up of ten gin botanicals, including coriander, juniper, orange peels, Scottish honeyberries, and their key botanical, Ceylon tea leaves. The Teasmith Scottish Gin launched in early December 2016, with batch one of 560 bottles selling out in eight days. The couple worked hard to grow the brand, attending various events and building strong links with retailers and hospitality venues while balancing full-time careers and a growing family.
In 2019, Nick and Emma launched the Broich Single Estate Gin, part of the Grower’s Edition series of small-batch limited edition Scottish Gins featuring Broich Black Tea leaves nurtured and grown at Broich Tea Garden on the banks of the River Earn in Crieff. Nick and Emma worked with the distillery team at Lost Loch Spirits distillery team in Aberdeenshire on the recipe development. In October of the same year, Douglas Laing & Co., a respected and established Glasgow-based whisky bottler, acquired Strathearn Distillery, marking Douglas Laing & Co.’s transition from bottler to distillery owner.
In May 2021, Nick and Emma, in collaboration with the Balmoral Royal Estate, launched the Ballochbuie Gin. It features a range of botanicals foraged from the estate and is named after one of Queen Victoria’s favourite spots on the estate: the Ballochbuie Forest, a remnant of the ancient Caledonian pinewoods.
By late 2024, Nick and Emma had secured a large export deal to America for The Teasmith Scottish Gin. The Smalley family had grown to two young children and a third on the way. Nick’s career as a helicopter pilot for the offshore oil and gas industry was hectic. Emma had established her own business supporting business owners and leaders. The Teasmith Spirits Company was also a full-time job, with Nick attending events, Emma developing new business opportunities, managing sales and stockists and everything else involved with running a Scottish Gin business.
With Douglas Laing & Co.’s acquisition of Strathearn Distillery, the company saw The Teasmith Spirits Company as an established brand and Scottish Gins with links to Stratheran Distillery and a business that would sit well in the Douglas Laing & Co. portfolio of drinks brands and spirits. Nick and Emma sold The Teasmith Spirits Company to Douglas Laing & Co. 2024. The Teasmith Scottish Gin was re-launched by Douglas Laing & Co. in May 2025 with new packaging and bottle design but still featuring the original recipe developed by Nick, Emma and the Strathearn distillery team.
Nick and Emma are incredibly proud of what they created and achieved with The Teasmith Spirits Company. They secured their place in the story of Scottish Gin as the first Scottish Gin company to feature tea as a key botanical, collaborated with Scotland’s tea growers, and helped develop a gin for the Balmoral Royal Estate along with creating a Scottish Gin brand and building a loyal customer base.
The Teasmith Scottish Gin is the signature Scottish Gin from The Teasmith Spirits Company. The distillation features ten botanicals, including angelica root, Ceylon tea leaves, coriander seeds, grains of paradise, juniper berries, liquorice root, orange peels, orris root, rose petals and Scottish honeyberries.
On the nose, clean, fresh and bright aromatic juniper and orange blossom citrus notes are balanced with minty floral notes and green herbs.
On the palate, piney, fresh juniper is balanced with gentle spices before delicate citrus, green tea, florals, and herbs emerge. Hints of sweet berries with a minty freshness follow.
The finish has notes of fresh green tea and some subtle peppery warmth before some subtle zesty citrus and floral tea notes fade to a refreshing, clean and dry finish.
Key Botanical(s): Ceylon Tea Leaves, Orange Peels, Scottish Honeyberries
Gin Style: Distilled Scottish Gin
Strength: 43% ABV
Goes great with: A sprig of fresh mint, tonic and ice.
Part of the Grower’s Edition series, a Limited Edition of only 1000 bottles and also a world's first - the first gin to be distilled using Scottish grown tea. Featuring a carefully selected and harvested Broich Black Tea that's been nurtured and grown on the banks of the River Earn in Crieff, grown as part of the Tea Gardens of Scotland group. Thanks to the addition of this special tea as a botanical along with 12 other botanicals including Juniper, Coriander Seed and Orange Peel, this has resulted in a flavour profile that is juniper led but has bursts of apple and honey. The Teasmith Broich Single Estate Gin is now entirely sold out.
Key Botanical(s): Broich Black Tea, Pure Liquorice Root, Coriander, Orange Peel
Gin Style: Distilled
Strength: 43% vol
Goes great with: A slice of apple, tonic and ice.
Learn more about The Teasmith Spirits Company by visiting the links below.
