Without juniper, there’s no gin. It’s the one continuous aspect of the spirit we love that makes up its heart and soul. So much so that it’s the law for something to be called ‘gin’ it has to have juniper as its predominant flavour (and have a minimum strength of 37.5% ABV).
Kinrara Distillery, based in the heart of the Cairngorms national park in Scotland, really want to make it the star of the show and not just a legal necessity or tick box exercise with their Estate Juniper Edition Wild Juniper gin. While most British gins feature juniper from places across continental Europe, Kinrara have only used juniper berries foraged from the picturesque area around the Aviemore distillery for this gin.
Scotland
Biggar Gin: a conversation with founders Stuart and Euan McVicar
DrinkThe Biggar Gin Co, founded by brothers Stuart and Euan McVicar in 2018, has been on my radar for a while. Its bold eye-catching typography, and rave reviews had drawn me in so I was really excited to be introduced to Stuart as part of my support of International Scottish Gin Day.
While I was gifted a Biggar Gin glass and mug as part of my collaboration, this has in no way affected the views in this blog.
Snawstorm Gin: a conversation with founder Leon Chessor
DrinkAs a supporter of International Scottish Gin Day I was introduced to a new gin brand, Snawstorm Scottish Spirits, founded by Leon and Susan Chessor. While I was gifted a bottle of Snawstorm Gin as part of a collaboration, this has not influenced my views.
Isle of Harris Gin
DrinkYou will be hard pushed to find a bottle of gin more lusted over than that of Isle of Harris gin. Its iconic twisted, rippled glass look has been adored all over the internet. As part of International Scottish Gin Day I’m taking a look at some of the incredible gins that Scotland has to offer.
Nàdar climate positive gin, Arbikie Distillery
DrinkI’m proud to support International Scottish Gin Day, and this year I’m continuing my support by taking a closer look at a few of Scotland’s incredible variety of distilleries and their gins. Nàdar means ‘nature’ in gaelic, and with this gin Arbikie Distillery near Arbroath on the east coast of Scotland, have created the world’s first climate positive gin – taking more carbon in, that it puts out.
A foodie weekend in the Highlands sampling Speyside spirits
Drink, FoodHaving experienced New Zealand‘s breathtaking beauty at the end of 2018 we wanted to travel somewhere a little closer to home that might offer some similarities. As neither Kirstin or I had been to the Highlands before we decided on flying to Inverness in Scotland to stay in the beautiful Muckrach Country House Hotel in Speyside, at the north west of the Cairngorms (the largest national park in the UK).