Shetland Reel Up Helly Aa Gin
40% ABV
£35.95
Free delivery on all orders when you spend £100 or more
Since 2015, the Saxa Vord distillery has released an annual limited edition cask aged gin (each time matured in different barrels) to celebrate the island’s much loved Up Helly Aa fire festival. It’s proved more and more difficult to get hold of year on year, with the most recent editions selling out on pre-order within hours. The bottles have become a collectable amongst both Shetlanders and Scottish Gin enthusiasts in recent years, with a small group of collectors holding a bottle from each launch. This is the 2022 edition, which was limited to 500 bottles and has been aged in casks which were previous used to store Stewart’s Rum.
Tasting notes
Key Botanical(s):
JuniperGoes great with:
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About
At the very tip of the British isles lie the Shetland Islands, where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is a place of mystery and secrets. Of long summer days and long winter nights. Of dramatic weather. Emerging from this remote community is the Saxa Vord Distillery, the most northerly in the UK, started by four people sharing a passion for producing quality spirits. The distillery is located at the northern end of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in the UK, accessible from mainland Shetland by two ferry journeys, via the island of Yell. It is closer to Norway in distance and in culture than it is to much of Scotland.
Cask Aged Gin
Cask Aged Gin is created as a result of gin being stored for a set amount of time in a wooden cask or with wooden chips. Although gin was traditionally transported around the world in wooden casks of all types, cask aged gins are anything but old fashioned. Thanks to the diversity of casks including sherry, port, whisky, bourbon and wine, Cask Aged Gin can provide some dynamic and rich flavour profiles as the gin is imbued with deep flavours and colours from the wood, often rich in flavours and pigments from it’s previous contents.
Production
The Saxa Vord Distillery was established in the former RAF Supply Depot at the former RAF Saxa Vord in Unst Shetland. It would have stored everything that the RAF needed at the site from technical radar equipment to beds, blankets and uniforms. The owners of Shetland Reel bought the site about 12 years ago when it shut down and turned the married quarters to self-catering houses, the Sergeants Mess to a hostel and seasonal restaurant and the large building at the edge of the site just looked as though it should be a distillery, which would create jobs all year round. So in 2014, the site was converted into dedicated production facilities for the Original Gin. Gin Still Elsi (named after the Manager’s daughter) must be one of the smallest in Scotland at 100 litres, but works very efficiently and produce all Shetland Reel Gins all year round. All Shetland Reel expressions are London Dry style and involve soaking the botanicals, at least overnight, in the neutral spirit before beginning distillation. Nothing is added once distillation is complete and the only other change to the taste or nose the team might make is by maturing some of the gin in whisky or sherry casks for Limited Editions.
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When you spend £100 or more
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All gins produced in Scotland