The 8 Best Gin Distilleries in Scotland

When people think of Scotland and spirits they think whisky, and they’d be right to do so, with over 125 whisky distilleries spread across the nation. However, Scotland also produces over 70% of the gin distilled in the United Kingdom, including Tanqueray and James Bond’s favourite, Gordon’s. This is a figure that is rising each year, as small craft distilleries continue to open and flourish, producing a remarkable revival in a spirit that was once known as ‘Mother’s ruin’. Here are eight of Scotland’s most interesting gin distilleries.

It has been said that when Hendrick’s launched their gin in the late 1990s they kindled the modern Scottish gin revival. Run by William Grant and Sons, who are perhaps better known as whisky distillers, this gin began to receive excellent reviews as soon as it was launched. Flavoured with cucumber and Bulgarian rose, in an old-fashioned brown bottle designed to look like those used by apothecaries, Hendrick’s was deemed the ‘Best Gin in the World’ by the Wall Street Journal and has won many accolades at the San Francisco World Spirits competition. Although the botanics are known, the exact proportions are closely guarded by only three people.

One of the most striking aspects to the recent gin revival is the breadth of fantastic and artistic bottles the spirit is sold in. Caorunn is a great example of this; it is housed in a five-sided bottle with their signature star on the base. The Balmenach distillery is nestled in the wild hills of the Cairngorm National Park, and is more famously known as one of the first licensed whisky distilleries. A modern London Dry gin, Caorunn is named after the Scottish Gaelic for rowan — a tree full of bright red berries, and an intrinsic part of the Highland landscape.

Glen Wyvis is 100% owned by the local community and their new distillery also aims to be 100% powered by green, renewable energy. Another distillery situated on the North Coast 500 route, Glen Wyvis is near Dingwall, just north of Inverness; they are also planning to open a High Street presence in the town. This new distillery is named after two others, now long-closed — Glenskiach and Ben Wyvis. Skiach means ‘hawthorn’ in Gaelic, and it is this berry that is added to the botanics in the gin, which also include angelica root, cinnamon, and almond.