Esker Gin – Premium Scottish Highland Dry Gin | 42% ABV, 70cl Bottle | Distilled in Aberdeenshire with Locally Sourced Silver Birch Sap, Pink Peppercorns, and Rosehip | Ideal for Negroni and Martini

Product Information

Traditionally Pitlochry, and Perthshire as a whole, is thought of as whisky country. But having a verdant farm and the River Brerachin nearby makes it perfect for Premium small-batch Gin production. Thankfully, experts like Jayne are on hand to keep us from missing out, and here she introduce us to 10 of the newest Scottish gins around: No. 1: Persie Gin Nestled deep in the western Pentland Hills, Tarbraxus Distillers is home to the award-winning Pentland Hills Gin. A brand new Premium Scottish Gin Producer based in Callendar, they have really set out to be authentic and different.

As well as a range of distilled gins we produce liqueurs including a delicious cold-brew Coffee Liqueur, Cofaidh. Beans are freshly roasted by Cairngorm Leaf & Bean in Aviemore before we make them into the liqueur. Perfect for making the at home Espresso Martini. Biggar Gin is one of my newer favourites and was the winner of the London Dry Category in the Gin Guide Gin Awards 2018. It’s a brilliantly versatile gin which is juniper forward but with both herbaceous and spiced characteristics. It makes a fabulous gin and tonic! Hebridean Pink Gin is distilled with juniper, raspberries and sweet peels. The stunning bottle was designed by Glasgow based design agency, O Street, and the striking design certainly catches the eye. The team at Kirkjuvagr tell me its incredibly smooth and can be sipped neat over ice with a piece of orange rind. Their "Perfect Serve" for Kirkjuvagr is Fever Tree tonic with a twist of orange peel.

The bright, silver bark of silver birch trees makes them a notable feature across Scotland and especially across Royal Deeside where the Esker distillery is located. Silver birch is a generous tree – it’s widely spread roots bring otherwise inaccessible nutrients into the tree, which are recycled on to the soil surface when the tree sheds its leaves. It has links to Celtic mythology, symbolising renewal and purification – in Scottish Highland mythology, it is used as symbol of love. Tiree Whisky Company Ltd was established by locals Alain Campbell and Ian Smith with the aim of reviving the spirit industry on an island with a rich heritage in the tradition. Local production of Tyree Gin began in February 2019 and, once again, the island was home to an operational distillery - the first in 217 years.

With gin drinking I tend to be drawn to more floral gins, or those which feature grapefruit/pink grapefruit as I enjoy the softness which it brings to the drink.Garnishing with a lime or lemon wedge? Give it a good squeeze before dropping it into your glass, a wedge that has not been squeezed will just float to the top and add very little to the drink. I’ll honestly drink any type of gin (with the exception of something ridiculously sweet). The only thing I look for is something quite “ginny”. After that I’m not too fussy. Although if the gin is overly flavoured, I don’t tend to enjoy it too much. For example, I have one from a gin club that I found to be too overpowering with rose and I literally cannot drink it. It’s not a Scottish Gin, though, so don’t worry! This began to decline as tighter regulations from both the estate and the government were introduced. Although a large number of islanders were still making whisky illegally, this industry ceased completely in the nineteenth century.​

It seems like it does with Minus 33, who have concocted a solution to the high calorie content in flavoured gin. The answer is sugar- or rather NO sugar! Caorunn. The blushing apple is unique in the gin world and is a very lovely flavour to work with, in particular for making sloe and damson gin. We made a batch of damson gin with Caorunn about 6 years ago and this is the best batch we’ve made. We’ve known and supported Caorunn since they launched 10 years ago. The Queen’s former floating palace, Britannia was an ambassador for British business, promoting trade and industry around the world.

Recipes

Today, the British have made gin very much their own drink, and it is now enjoying incredible popularity. While dominated by juniper, any number of botanicals can be infused — from aniseed to orange blossom — to achieve the desired taste. This has opened the door to a plethora of new and exciting gins, creating an upcoming and innovative craft-gin industry. We have experimented with Teasmith and really liked the citrus notes from the gin. Teasmith is also really served neat with ice and some lemon peel. Persie Gin is made by the hard-working partners Chrissie and Simon who also run the long-established Gin Club Scotland. Britannia Gin is made from 16 botanicals, with each of those botanicals carefully selected to represent the Royal Yacht’s lifetime at sea.