Working with specialist spirits branding agency, Stranger & Stranger, the ‘Social Distillery’ has created something which is the envy of many. They wanted to produce something which depicts the truly stunning scenery found on the island – and what a job they’ve done! Whitetail launched its new gin liqueur range at the end of last summer using seasonal fruits and botanicals hand-foraged from the family’s 56-acre Tiroran estate and from around the island. The flavours include rhubarb, vanilla and ginger, aqua mint and lime, late summer berry, grapefruit and rosemary and lemon balm and elderflower. Gin hasn’t historically been perceived as a Scottish product so it is fantastic to see progressive Scottish distilling and inquisition lead to it becoming popular throughout the world. New Scottish gin distilleries are popping up all of the time with local variations, ingredients or techniques making each and every one unique, just like Scotch whisky distilleries, which are all different. If things continue as they are, then we believe that Scottish Gin will continue to thrive.

Being neighbours and having played with Trail West at the Bruichladdich Distillery on a few occasions, Tyree Gin’s Ian Smith now asks The Botanist Gin… Myself and my business partner are very into the local history - we love reading about the island’s written historical accounts and one of the things I discovered was that between 1790 and 1791 there were 157 people caught distilling illegally, and one in every ten was evicted from their croft or holding. We thought this history was fascinating - there were hundreds of years of history of whisky production on the island - and we thought, why has nobody tried to revive that?” This award-winning gin was the brainchild of two whisky distillery managers who also happened to be gin enthusiasts. Their aim was to create a spirit that would appeal to seasoned gin drinks but also entice a new market of non-gin drinkers and convert them to gin. And so they set about creating a gin that would have subtle fruitiness and a soft creamy finish. Drawing upon their joint experience of over 25 years in the distilling industry, the long experiment began using as much locally grown botanicals as possible. Along with this historical knowledge, my business partner, Alain, is a local crofter and he and his family had a knowledge of various botanicals available on the island’s machair ground.

22. THE BOTANIST GIN

How do the two of you manage to find enough time to run the business, make gin and at the same time touring and playing with your band Trail West? Noted for its smoothness and strength (just like its namesake), Whitetail Gin sells to customers including Selfridges and British chef Marco Pierre White.

They produced a sample gin using the botanicals we’d sourced and after a couple of tweaks, we finalised the recipe. We then officially launched at Tiree Music Festival 2017. The Isle of Tiree lies to the north of Islay and south of Barra and is the most westerly island of the Inner Hebrides. In the eighteenth century it was home to ‘no less than fifty distillers’, yet the island’s connection with the Scotch Whisky Industry has long been lost.

1. Isle of Harris GIn

The gin embodies the very best in craft production, sourcing botanicals from across the island and nearby areas to create an exceptional gin that lends itself to life on the Scottish isles. This was until island locals, Alian Campbell and Ian Smith formed the Tiree Whisky Company to preserve and promote the island’s whisky heritage. Following on from the success of their first spirit, The Cairnsmuir – a limited edition 19-Year-Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Tyree Gin was launched in 2017. A gin to reflect the island In the build up to TMF 10, Stuart and Daniel - the festival organisers - got in touch with myself and Alain with an idea to mark the anniversary. We decided to source a cask from Speyside, and the whisky went into cask around the same time as plans for the first ever Tiree Music Festival were taking shape. Now, ten years on, about 380 bottles are available to celebrate the milestone,” Ian says. So in a bid to do just that, The Tiree Whisky Company launched a whisky titled The Cairnsmuir - a 19 year old Speyside malt. Chair of the judging panel, Adam Hardie, Partner and Head of Food and Drink at Johnston Carmichael, said: “It continues to be a very tough and challenging year but many are not just surviving but excelling.