Tyree Gin, 70 cl

Product Information

Beinn an Tuirc Distillers, South Loch Gin and Linlithgow Distillery also won multiple taste medals. 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!

The whisky was named after a ship that ran aground off the shores of the island and it has cases of whisky - a story similar to Whisky Galore,” says Ian. We launched that at the Tiree Homecoming and only bottled 230 which all sold out. That was the first step - to publicise the whisky company and to let people know what we were doing.” Starting with gin Picture: Tyree Gin Facebook We got a tasting panel together and there was no shortage of applications”, Ian laughs. “We’ve got a good team of friends who tried it - Daniel and Stuart and even some famous musicians, such as Ian Bayne from Runrig.” 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. We have no access to three phase power so our still had to be adapted accordingly. We also had to pay for the installation of a new electricity connection to allow us to utilise the power capabilities of the equipment, an additional cost that we hadn’t planned for.At the beginning of the pandemic, the distillery produced hand sanitiser free of charge for any companies or individuals on the island that required it. In December, they also helped to spread some festive cheer by giving a free miniature of Tyree Gin or Hebridean Pink Gin to every islander over the age of 18.

was a big year for Trail West too as it is our 10th Anniversary. We’re hoping our first headline show in the Barrowlands in Glasgow in September still goes ahead so we’re keeping all of our fingers and toes crossed! The plan is to have a quieter year with the band next year and things should be more manageable then… Hopefully!” The Duke responded three years later by asking about "the most effectual methods of crushing distillery". In 1794, the Duke chided the chamberlain, accusing him of allowing "the tenants to drink their barley" rather than paying rent. Noted for its smoothness and strength (just like its namesake), Whitetail Gin sells to customers including Selfridges and British chef Marco Pierre White. As well as this, Tiree’s water is amongst the hardest in the UK, with a large amount of solids contained in it. Production water was up to 500ppm so we had to invest in various filters for use in our production process. We’ve had a number of obstacles to overcome over the years, in particular when it came to establishing the distillery on the island. As mentioned, our distillery is based in West Hynish in Tiree, which is one of the most remote corners of the island (on an already remote island!).With the distillery located on a rural estate, we have to rely on some private services such as water – this means that every summer we are watching the skies to see if it will rain, as we can often run dry, even in Kintyre! Just remember, today’s rain is tomorrow’s gin! Cairngorm Gin is a handcrafted premium distilled gin, produced in small batches of just 70 bottles in a traditional copper pot still, named Ginger, using a blend of nine botanicals including juniper, cloudberries, elderflower and Caledonian pine, partnered with coriander seed, orris root, sweet orange peel, angelica and kaffir lime, which are all distilled along with fresh water collected from the River Spey. The Scottish Gin Awards have revealed gin brands which have successfully achieved medal status in 2023, following the awards dinner in Glasgow this month.

Almost 200 gins - all distilled in Scotland - were blind tasted this year and medals awarded in 11 categories.

41. NORDÉS GIN

We launched the gin in the 2017 Tiree Music Festival and sold out about 1,000 bottles I think. It was brilliant.” As the first legal distillery on the island for over 200 years, and with so many links to the history of Tiree, what does the future hold? So in a bid to do just that, The Tiree Whisky Company launched a whisky titled The Cairnsmuir - a 19 year old Speyside malt. Tyree (the old spelling of Tiree) Gin was created to celebrate the stunning landscape where it is distilled. Produced using Kelp harvested from the icy waters and a range of botanicals from the machair ground inland from the shore of the island combined with juniper, water-mint and angelica, this is a fresh, pure island spirit. Coming home There was also a long-standing concern about a rise in drunkenness on the island, which the authorities linked with the number of stills. James Turnbull had reported in his Statistical Account of 1768: "The people drink more than they would do, which is a means of spoiling their morals and keeping them idle."