On the Aberdeenshire gin trail

Aberdeenshire is globally renowned for its whisky but there’s another alcoholic beverage making a spirited mark on the North-east map – gin.

According to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s ‘Scotland Gin Trail’, around 70% of gin produced in the UK now comes from Scotland and there are at least six quality gins linked to Aberdeen and shire.

Porter’s Gin is the first gin distiller in Aberdeen city for more than 100 years. It gets its name from a Professor at the city’s university – Professor Andrew Porter sourced a rotary evaporator, a piece of distillation equipment that allowed Porter’s Gin creators, Ben Iravani, Josh Rennie and Alex Lawrence, to distill at cold temperatures.

They found the rotary evaporator was perfect for botanicals with lighter, fresher flavours, such as pink peppercorn and Buddha’s hand, allowing the team to extract subtle flavours from delicate botanicals normally damaged by heat.

This is a new approach to gin distillation, with only a handful of distillers using this technique globally. The remaining botanicals are distilled in a traditional fashion in a copper pot still.

The end result is described as ‘a superior quality premium gin with a traditional bold juniper body, and a unique, fresh citrus profile’ combining juniper, angelica, almond, coriander, liquorice, lemon, orange, Buddha’s hand, pink peppercorn, orris root, cassia bark and cinnamon.

House of Elrick, in rural Newmachar, is a country pile dating back to the 1720s. Originally home to a family of cattle farmers and millers, House of Elrick gin now prides itself on working closely with the independent farmers and suppliers of today.

Its botanicals are hand picked and include juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root and citrus peel, built around a core of heather, pink peppercorns, sweet fennel and rose petals. Its pure water comes from Loch Ness. The gin is distilled by hand in batches of 600 bottles per run and is pitched as ‘a fresh, yet earthy, bold infusion of flavours’.

Esker Gin, from Aberdeen, proves the city is getting an increasing reputation for its gin. Steven and Lynne Duthie, who shared a passion for tasting and sampling gin, had day jobs in oil and gas.

Steven has since moved full time into distilling as the couple established Esker Spirits in Royal Deeside. After experimenting with botanicals, their USP, or ‘flash of inspiration’, was to add silver birch sap from the trees of the Kincardine Estate into their recipe – it’s said to add a touch of sweetness.

Other botanicals include heather flowers, pink peppercorns and cassia, combined with the waters of the River Dee. And the name? The Duthies wanted to reflect the geology of the area – Esker means a long ridge created by a glacier and suggests the topography of the surrounding Deeside countryside.

Described as ‘a classic gin with its own distinctive notes including citrus and a hint of floral botanicals’ it’s best served with a quality tonic and a twist of orange zest.

Indian Summer comes from Huntly and describes itself as the ‘soul of summer’. Its gold-yellow hue comes the precious spice saffron and it’s said to be ‘reminiscent of a sizzling summers day’.

Whilst Huntly isn’t exactly renowned for its sizzling summers, this gin can be enjoyed in all weathers with a mix of ginger beer, lemon, mint and ice. Other botanicals in it include angelica bark, almonds, coriander seed, cassia, juniper berries, lemon peel, liquorish root, orris root and orange peel.

Whilst Crossbill Gin was initially distilled in Inshriach, near Aviemore, its founder, Jonathan Engels, grew up in Newmachar and Inverurie, in Aberdeenshire.

His personality shines through his products. For example, his quirky original distillery, a converted chicken shed in the Cairngorms National Park, was idiosyncratic, functional and delightful. It went on to win Shed of the Year on the Channel 4 ‘Amazing Spaces’ television programme.

He is currently distilling in Strathearn, Perthshire, with a new experimental distillation site opening in Glasgow.

Intrigued by Scotland’s role in the 18th century export of juniper to Holland to produce Jenever (gin’s illustrious forefather), Crossbill’s calling card is the fact that it’s produced with 100% native Scottish juniper. Engels worked closely with Dr Graham Sullivan of Scottish Natural Heritage, Plantlife Scotland and the Forestry Commission in Scotland to create a sustainable juniper harvest.

The gin’s name originates from the Scottish crossbill, a native bird found in the Caledonian pine forests. This gin is said to offer ‘a distinct taste evocative of the ancient pine forests where juniper has grown for centuries’.

Teasmith is the most recently launched gin with links to Aberdeenshire. First distilled in December, 2016, its creators, Nick and Emma Smalley, are based in Udny Green. As the name suggests Teasmith takes inspiration from the rgion’s historic connections with the tea trade.

The Smalleys discovered that the ‘father of Ceylon tea’, James Taylor, came from the North-east and planted the first tea plantation in Sri Lanka. They worked closely with tea consultant Beverly Wainwright to source a unique Ceylon tea for their own product and chose one that’s grown at an elevation of over 1000m in a valley above the Ravana Ella Waterfalls, in Sri Lanka.

Botanicals in Teasmith, including juniper, coriander, grains of paradise, pure liquorice root and orange peel. They are distilled in traditional copper alembic stills.

The black loose leaf Ceylon tea is distilled separately and then the two distillates are blended together. After all this effort, the Smalleys recommend serving Teasmith with an air of classy understatement – a quality tonic, lots of ice and a sprig of mint.

Teasmith promises a ‘unique gin, characterised by its clarity, simplicity and confidence’.

With World Gin Day awaiting celebration on 10 June, 2017, it’s perhaps worth exploring many of the Scottish craft gins now gracing our shelves and supporting passionate local producers from Aberdeenshire and beyond.