Scotland’s thriving food and drink sector is something we can all celebrate. From Scotland’s brilliant Scottish Gin makers and brands to beef, salmon, whisky and more. We’ve got a lot to shout about.
For the last decade Scotland Food & Drink have undertaken their Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight. It sees businesses from across Scotland’s food and drink sector, including producers and businesses working in the food and drink supply chain, come together to celebrate their products, success stories and more. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase to the world why they should put Scottish food and drink at the top of their list of produce to try next.
To celebrate 10 years of the Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight we thought we would look to the future and ask some of Scotland’s Gin makers and brands where they would like to see Scottish Gin in another 10 years time?
“It would be wonderful to see it continue to grow, with it further strengthening its international recognition for the quality of the spirits produced. I am sure there will be some consolidation of brands and in the categories of gin but I am sure traditional gin will stand the test of time and continue to thrive.”
Matt Gammell, Co-Founder, Pickering’s Gin
“I would like to see Scottish Gin recognised globally as a premium spirit and see the consumer captured by great stories, great Scottish Gin experiences and great Scottish Gins. It would also be brilliant to see visitor numbers to our distillery continuing to grow as our gin still JJ loves a good selfie with visitors”.
Jill Brown, Founder & Distiller, Avva Scottish Gin
“We would hope that Scottish Gin remains world renowned for being outstanding. We would like to see the current customer staples on the shelf still and joined by some of our gin cousins who have really increased production and reach recently. We would also wish for continued innovation in the sector so that we will be producing and enjoying high quality gins that have never been made before and have challenged the status quo in a respectful way.”
Lorien Cameron-Ross, Co-Founder & Distiller, Loch Ness Spirits
“It would be great if Scottish Gin had a global reputation for quality and craft. I would also like to see more small, independent distilleries opening up with a new wave of innovative gins available to consumers. Ideally, these consumers will be supporting their local distilleries.”
Martin Murray, Co-Founder & Distiller, Dunnet Bay Distillers
“We would like to see the Scottish Gin category gain further recognition globally as its own individual category, or at least on its way to that achievement, as well as helping gin in general step out of the “other spirits” class. The offerings of premium craft gins in Scotland is really quite staggering, so seeing this grow into a more recognised sector would be great for the Scottish economy. We would also like to see more protection offered around the Scottish Gin sector as well as subsidies provided for smaller craft producers.”
Josh Fraser, Office Manager, GlenWyvis Distillery
“In 10 years time, Scottish Gin producers will be more confident, organised and powerful: continually innovating to secure a sustainable future. We can surely expect Scottish Gins to remain as the centrepiece in gantries around the country and to witness even more dynamic business dedicated to showcasing the spirit and offering insight into its origins.”
Louis Wright, Head of Production, Orkney Distilling
“In 10 years time, we would like to see Scottish Gin being recognised globally as a category in its own right. It should be well on the way to having an enduring appeal, thanks to excellence in quality, provenance and sustainability.”
Lynne Duthie, Co-Founder, Esker Spirits
“In 10 years time, it would be great to see gin tourism in Scotland drawing international visitors in the same way that whisky does. There are some fascinating distilleries and wonderful brands across the country, not to mention great gin events. We have been delighted to welcome visitors from around the world this summer and look forward to seeing many more in the years to come.”
Alex Christou, Founder, Eight Lands
“As gin producers, we would love to see the Scottish Gin category grow from strength to strength. Gin as a category is perhaps the most diverse in terms of flavour profiles of any spirit and this leaves room for producers to gain unparalleled opportunities to create unique and diverse product ranges. This is undoubtedly what has kept the category so alive and vibrant amongst consumers for the past 10 years as, in particular, emerging craft distilleries have pushed boundaries in terms of botanical selection, production methods and techniques, which in turn has put pressure on existing mainstream producers to also diversify. Scotland has always had a long and proud history in the distilling, engineering and scientific categories and so it seems apt that so many amazing gin distilleries have risen out of our nation.
“Truth be told, we would think there will come a point whereby the market is over saturated with products, and many small distilleries may well be unsustainable as bottle sales alone may not cover the associated costs. We will see later this year about the effect of Brexit upon gin makers in Scotland as the costs of manufacture could potentially increase dramatically with much glass, closures, seals and even botanicals often being imported from abroad. Though we can plan for this in some way and minimise the risk, none of us truly know at this stage what impact this will have. If prices become too high at the manufacturing end, then how much will the consumer be willing to pay for their premium small batch gin? This could really have a dramatic effect on the number of viable distilleries in the short term.”
Craig Innes, Co-Founder & Distiller, Pixel Spirits
“For me, making and producing Scottish Gin is something to be really proud of!! Scottish Gin is now on the map as a truly world class gin producing nation. The future is bright, gin is not going to die as it has been around for hundreds of years and will always be one of the top white spirits in the world. I think the gin industry needs some regulating to protect it for the future – where it’s made, who makes it, the botanicals for example, as well as protecting the consumer, so they know what they are buying is a true gin, made where it says it’s made.”
Stuart Brown, Co-Founder & Distiller, Deerness Distillery
“Gin is such a diverse spirit and the range of things that we can call gin has lead to some amazing creations, but at the same time it has lead to a lot of things that some would consider “barely gin”. It would be great to see further specialisation in the Gin category with craft distillers specialising in the weird and wonderful world of spirits, but at the same time seeing protections offered for classical styles of gin and making a clear distinction about what is gin and what is liqueur. Gin is such an amazing spirit, let’s celebrate its diversity and its origins.”
Luke Fenton, Commercial Manager, Kinrara Distillery
“We would like to see Scottish Gin given some form of protected status as a term and gin category and we strongly believe that in 10 years time Scottish Gin will be recognised globally and known as a premium spirit that’s made in Scotland. The quality of gin currently being produced in Scotland is not only great for the consumer but also plays a role helping grow and strengthen Brand Scotland as a whole. So in 10 years time where would we like to see Scottish Gin? World Dominating!”
Thomas Wilson, Co-Founder & Distiller, Isle of Skye Distillers
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