Scottish Gin News

There were some really exciting releases coming out of Scotland this month including a smoked gin, a flavoured gin, a paired-back sea salt and beeswax gin, a pumpkin spice latte gin, a cask aged gin, a navy strength gin and an autumn gin… and that’s before we mention a Scottish Gin infused pickle collaboration with a famous New York Deli! There’s no doubting the innovation and diversity in these products and we’ll happily tell you a little bit more about each of these new Scottish Gin expressions in our round-up below. 

As well as the Scottish Gin Awards ceremony in October, more immediately, we look forward to the third annual International Scottish Gin Day (ISGD) on Saturday 2nd October 2021. There has already been some fantastic events and content online in the lead up to ISGD and we can’t wait to raise a glass on the day and see everyone celebrate the drink we know and love, Scottish Gin. A special shout-out to our dedicated supporters who have showcased some of their favourite and recently discovered Scottish Gins over the last few weeks. Learn more about our official supporters here.

We relished the opportunity to get together online with our supply chain sponsors in September, for a virtual round table event. We also invited along a few of our Scottish Gin members to share their experiences of the spirits supply chain. It made for really interesting discussion and we want to thank everyone involved for their time and input as well as their ongoing support and sponsorship of ISGD 2021. You can watch the ISGD 2021 Supply Chain Sponsor Virtual Round Table here.

New Scottish Gins & Special Releases

Orkney Gin Company’s Aatta Gin

A new Scottish Gin, presented in a beautiful custom bottle and the first distilled gin from the team at Orkney Gin Company, known for their cold compounded range of gins in their traditional stoneware bottles and for producing Scotland’s first Akvavit. Aatta, in Old Norse meaning ‘Eight’, is distilled eight times on the still to create a smooth, silky mouthfeel and truly balanced gin distilled over 24 hours using eight botanicals in the distillation. Zesty oranges, hand picked rosehips, piney juniper and vanilla combine to create a bright and refreshing gin. 

Learn more about Orkney Gin Company here.

Gin Bothy Smoked Gin 

Smoking of ingredients, often done in bothy smokehouses, has long been part of Scottish culture so Gin Bothy took inspiration from this long-held tradition and worked with Alex Spink and Sons, who have been making smokies in Arbroath since 1977, to create this Bothy Smoked Gin. Only 250 bottles of the first edition have been produced, made in a protected designation of origin area, using a traditional Smokie ‘bothy’, which involved applying traditional smoking techniques to juniper, orange peel, coriander and lemon, which were then distilled to create this distinctive Scottish Gin.

Learn more about Gin Bothy here.

Holyrood Distillery’s Height of Arrows

The distillation team at Holyrood have stripped back their gin range and created this new signature gin, created with Whisky in mind. Drawing on the idea that whisky’s myriad of flavours rely on a handful of ingredients, Height of Arrows is stripped back to the core, featuring juniper, beeswax and salt, lending layers of texture and full bodied flavour to the gin.

Learn more about Holyrood Distillery here.

Glaswegin Raspberry & Rhubarb

Created using a blend of eight classic botanicals with the addition of raspberry and rhubarb, this flavoured gin is made with 100% natural ingredients to deliver a true fruit flavoured gin profile. On the nose, raspberry jam and candied rhubarb along with vanilla creates a fruity profile, which is replicated on the palate with the addition of fresh, crisp orange flower and bright citrus lemon before fading to a long, slightly sweet and warming finish.

Learn more about Glaswegin here.

Pickering’s Gin Pumpkin Spice Latte Gin

The well known autumnal and winter coffee treat, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has been reinvented as a Scottish Gin by Pickering’s Gin; famous for their unique and quirky flavour combinations. Based on the original Pickering’s 1947 Gin recipe, the twist comes from a balance of spices, sweet vanilla and the bitterness of the coffee, made in collaboration with local Edinburgh coffee shop brew! and Forth Coffee Roasters. 

Learn more about Pickering’s Gin here.

Linlithgow Distillery’s Cask Aged LinGin

Hot off the heels of the reveal of their new bespoke bottle, LinGin released their second edition Cask Aged Gin, with only 276 bottles available. Their signature LinGin was left to rest in a Glen Moray cask for 238 days resulting in deeply flavoursome gin with notes of whisky, vanilla and chocolate.

Learn more about Linlithgow Distillery here.

Roehill Spring Navy Strength Gin

Having recently won Gold with an impressive 96 points at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) for their Roehill Springs Gin No 5, the team has released their Navy Strength edition; a powerful, bold and aromatic gin, yet it retains the unmistakable ultra-smooth, refreshing finish that is synonymous with their signature Scottish Gin.

Learn more about Roehill Springs Distillery here.

Red Door Highland Gin with Autumn Botanicals

Continuing with their seasonal releases, Red Door Gin, made at the Forres-based Benromach Distillery, has launched their latest in the series, Red Door Highland Gin with Autumn Botanicals. This autumn edition blends the mellow fruitfulness of Scottish blackberry, both berries and leaves, alongside fresh fragrant pine needles and ripe sea buckthorn.

Learn more about Red Door Gin here.

Scottish Gin News

Hendrick’s Gin X Katz’s Delicatessen 

In true outlandish Hendrick’s style, they have collaborated with the infamous Katz’s Deli in New York to create a gin-inspired pickled cucumber; the perfect garnish to a Hendrick’s Gin cocktail and a pastrami sandwich. Having created pickles over five generations, the Deli worked with Hendrick’s Distiller Lesley Gracie to concoct the pickles using a perfect blend of gin based botanicals including whole juniper berries and cubeb berries with an emphasis on coriander in the brine, a common ingredient in Katz’s pickles & Hendrick’s Gin. Limited numbers available from katzsdelicatessen.com and the pickles will also be a special menu item at Katz’s Deli beginning September 27, while supplies last.

Learn more about Hendrick’s Gin here.

GINPIN Series 

The guys behind Crag & Tail Gin and Huffmans Distributors have launched Series 1 of their GINPIN collection. The first series gives exclusive access to 20 pins from 20 gin makers, featuring Scottish producers including Pixel Spirits, Glaswegin, Edinburgh Gin and Kinrara Distillery, among many others. Those who sign up not only get the enamel pins but 5cl samples of the branded gins and a little something extra.

Learn more here.

Awards

Great Taste Awards 2021

Congratulations to Pentland Hills Gin for receiving the greatly desired 3-Star Great Taste Awards medal for their Pentland Hills Navy Strength Gin, ’Electra’. Less than 2% of products entered annually receive this great honour and this gin was met with huge praise, not least being described as a ‘ne plus ultra’. A fantastic achievement from one of Scotland’s smallest craft distilleries.

Well done to the other limited number of Scottish Gin producers for picking up awards including The Gael Spirits Company who received 2-Stars for their signature The Gael Scottish Gin, Isle of Skye Distillers who also received 2-Stars for their signature Misty Isle Gin and Misty Isle Cill Targhlain Gin, City of Aberdeen Distillery who received 1-Star for their Fresh Gin and Rhubarb Gin, North Uist Distillery who received 1-Star for their signature Downpour Scottish Dry Gin, Kinrara Distillery who received 1-Star for their signature Highland Dry Gin and Artist Edition Freya Gin, Dunnet Bay Distillers who received 1-Star for their signature Rock Rose Gin, The Biggar Gin Company who received 1-Star for their signature Biggar Gin and high strength Biggar Gin, Roehill Springs Distillery who received 1-Star for their signature Gin No 5, Glaswegin who received 1-Star for their signature Glaswegin, Orkney Gin Company who received 1-Star for their Aatta Gin, Orkney Distilling who received 1-Star for their Beyla Gin and collaborative North West Passage Expedition Gin.

Scottish Gin Awards Finalists

The annual awards programme, managed by the team at KD Media, is Scotland’s dedicated gin awards, which judges taste categories and business performance, recognising and rewarding Scotland’s thriving gin industry. A total of 320 gins were entered for 2021 and Finalists have been narrowed down to 67 producers and 223 gins in over 20 categories. Read the full list of finalists here. Winners will be announced at the annual ceremony at Glasgow’s Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on 27th October. Digital tickets to watch the event live from home are also available. Book tickets here.

Isle of Cumbrae Distillers

Congratulations to the team at Isle of Cumbrae Distillers on a very successful month picking up awards including Most Innovative Startup for 2021 from National Association of Scottish Businesswomen and Enterprise of the Year from Ayrshire Business Women.

The Gin Cooperative 

The Gin To My Tonic Show Glasgow

The Gin To My Tonic Show Glasgow 2020 was the last gin event we attended and the last event hosted at the SEC before the pandemic, so it was quite fitting that it the 2021 show should be the first show back at the SEC. As with all the large scale shows, it was a rare opportunity to meet so many of Scotland’s gin makers under one roof and catch up with friends in the gin community. Well done to Em and Paul for putting on another great show. 

We hosted a virtual round table event during September with our International Scottish Gin Day 2021 Supply Chain Sponsors. This was a unique opportunity to get some of Scotland’s gin producers together with some individuals from within the spirits supply chain to share their stories and discuss hot topics. Watch the video here.

September Scottish Gin Subscription

Our September subscribers have been treated to a bottle of the brand new Aatta Gin from Orkney Gin Company with some Walter Gregor’s tonics. Best known for their range of cold compounded gins, including the popular Rhubarb Old Tom Gin, the small family team can be proud of their very first distilled London Dry Gin. Erin Watt, one third of the family workforce and daughter to owners Gary and Andrea Watt, has kindly agreed to join us for this month’s meet-the-maker session online. 

Learn more about our Scottish Gin Subscription here.

The Gin Cooperative Features September 2021

Here’s a look back at the editorial features we published in September 2021.

Scottish Gin News Round-Up August – read it here.

Negroni Club – read it here.

ISGD 2021 Supply Chain Sponsors Virtual Round Table – read it here.

Look through our archive of Scottish Gin news here.