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. The main difficulties have been connected with the remoteness of our distillery and the options available to us in such a remote location. Thankfully things are now going to plan! We launched the gin in the 2017 Tiree Music Festival and sold out about 1,000 bottles I think. It was brilliant.” Having the gin produced elsewhere but using local ingredients helped fund the renovation of an industrial shed in West Hynish in the southwest of the island and in February 2019, after a break of 217 years, Tiree was once again home to an operational distillery. Distilled with passion, it launched its first award-winning signature gin, which captures the flavour of the Cairngorms.

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. The distillery's flagship product is the world’s first Oyster Gin, a premium gin made by charging the still with the shells of fresh Scottish oysters. The waters of Scotland’s west coast are famous for their oyster beds and Isle of Bute Gin's come from the beautiful Loch Fyne. The oyster shells add a delicate maritime essence to the spirit – blended with citrus and other botanicals to create a savoury gin which is a perfect pair to seafood and the ideal base for a martini. 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? Beinn an Tuirc Distillers, South Loch Gin and Linlithgow Distillery also won multiple taste medals. 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.Tiree, long known as Tìr an Eòrna 'the land of barley', was an island whose swollen population could barely feed itself, an island that had exhausted its reserves of peat and had to rely on expensive imports of coal. In addition, the long-lived eighth duke held a policy of keeping Tiree alcohol-free (the island’s licence had been removed in 1848 and wasn’t reintroduced until 1950). We are very proud to have achieved one of our goals of establishing a distillery in Tiree, the first since 1801. On an island with a fragile economy, it is a great feeling to revive an industry that has been dormant for such a long time.

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. So in a bid to do just that, The Tiree Whisky Company launched a whisky titled The Cairnsmuir - a 19 year old Speyside malt. The ultimate award, Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year, was presented for a second year in a row to North Uist Distillery. They also collected the award for Best New Product of the Year for their Downpour Coast & Croft Gin. And now, after eighteen months of contract distilling in London by Thames Distillers. The company is celebrating the release of the first island-distilled batch of Tyree Gin. Sales of the London-distilled gin helped to fund the renovation of an industrial shed in West Hynish in the southwest of the island and a 250-litre G-Still was installed there in late 2018.Inspired by the White-tailed eagles which have given the Isle of Mull its name of Eagle Island, the award-winning Whitetail Gin is handcrafted at the island’s first distillery in over 220 years in a traditional copper-pot still named Penny. Mixing a little bit of fun with a little bit of insight, we enjoy a second round of Scottish G&T’s with Scotland’s gin makers and brand owners as we let them ask their peers the questions in our ‘Talking Scottish Gin’ Q&A editorial feature. Tyree Gin truly reflects the landscape in which it is distilled. Kelp harvested from the icy waters provides sweetness as well as coastal salty flavours and floral, grassy and vanilla notes are achieved using a range of botanicals from the machair ground inland from the shore.

By 1801, the chamberlain still spoke of "spirits, to which the natives are much addicted." That same year, however, 157 islanders were found guilty of illegal distilling; in addition to a court fine, the new chamberlain, Dr McLaurin, was instructed to evict one in ten offenders as a warning. The Duke went further, demanding that all barley not needed for food should be sent directly to him at Inveraray Castle. Ten years after the legal distilleries had been set up, "none could be found on the island willing to undertake the distilling in a legal way" and by 1802 the duke pulled the plug completely: "The barley to be exported as last year, and no distilling permitted." 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. 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?

16. SILENT POOL GIN

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. Our distillery has now been operational for just over a year and continues to go from strength to strength. We had hoped to open to the public and offer tours this year but this has been put on hold for now, like everything else! We feel as though the island’s distilling history isn’t widely known about so this heritage will be an important part of our tours and we are looking forward to sharing this story with locals and visitors to the island once things return to some kind of normal. Launching in stores from the 26 May, the Scottish gin festival features a range of twelve spirits, including four expertly mixed, ready-to-drink cans, that offer gin lovers floral and fruit drinks that are ideal for warmer weather.

Almost 200 gins - all distilled in Scotland - were blind tasted this year and medals awarded in 11 categories. Meanwhile, just across the water, Isle of Islay Gin also takes inspiration from sunny local blooms with its deliciously differentNerabus Gorse Gin (40% ABV).

Tyree Gin (40% ABV)includes wild flowers such as eyebright, ladies bedstraw and water mint among its botanicals; all of which are all sustainably sourced from the fertile machair along the island’s coastline. 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 highly sought-after taste competition, 11 Gold Medals were presented with Edinburgh Gin collecting two gold medals. The brand is named after George Chinnery, the English painter, who began his career in Dublin, before travelling to China. The bottle is inspired by these two parts of his career – Georgian Dublin and Imperial China.