Gin
Augmented reality: ‘It’s gin, Jim, but not as we know it…’
A Scottish gin maker has gone all hi-tech with its labels; Peter Ranscombe finds out more. IT SOUNDS like something straight from an episode of Star Trek. Wave your mobile phone at the label on a bottle of gin and you’re transported into another world. But, today, science fiction is meeting distilling fact with the…
Read MoreHydrogen-powered whisky and gin
TWO distilleries on Orkney are investigating whether they can use hydrogen to make their whisky and gin. Whisky maker Highland Park and gin producer Orkney Distillery are looking at powering their distilleries using hydrogen. Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is at the forefront of hydrogen technology. The centre is using electricity generated by renewable…
Read MoreScottish drinks have a ‘can’ do attitude
SCOTLAND’S brands are continuing to embrace canned drinks with two recent releases. Forrit has launched a range of “hard seltzers”, while Boe has unveiled two gins mixed with lemonade. Forrit has blended sparkling water with alcohol, botanicals, and fruit flavours. The brand, which is owned by whisky maker Loch Lomond Group, has unveiled three variants:…
Read MoreReview: Robertsons Gin
John Boyle shares his first impressions of Robertsons Gin. EWAN McIlwrath of Robertsons of Pitlochry has judged my Scottish Field magazine gin and whisky blind tasting challenges for many years so, when he told me he had a gin coming out, I was very keen to give it a try. I gave Ewan a call,…
Read MoreGlasgow Gin brings Wellington statue to life
ONE of Glasgow’s best-loved landmarks has been brought to life through an advertising campaign for one of the city’s gin brands. Glasgow Gin is made at the city’s Illicit Spirits Distillery on behalf of Edinburgh-based Gleann Mòr, which was launched in 2013 by Derek and Karin Mair, whose brands also include Firkin Gin and Leith…
Read MoreSober October: soda, ‘gin’ and ‘beer’
As ‘Sober October’ gets underway, Peter Ranscombe rounds up some of the latest non-alcohol releases and revisits some old favourites. BETWEEN “Dry January” and “Sober October”, it’s getting harder and harder for a drinks writer to earn a living… so, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The latest month of abstinence is the ideal…
Read MoreWhy Local Selects’ gift boxes are here to stay
Peter Ranscombe reviews some of the amazing Scottish drinks featured in Local Selects’ gift boxes. ONE of the few positive results of lockdown has been the inspiring and innovative ways in which many Scottish drinks businesses dealt with the closure of bars, pubs, and other on-trade venues. The Start-up Drinks Lab in Port Glasgow is…
Read MoreAlcohol-free ‘spirits’ up 30%
SALES of alcohol-free “spirits” in the UK are up 30% year-on-year, according to market research firm Neilsen. Shoppers have spent £5.4 million buying 171,000 litres of alcohol-free “spirits” in supermarkets so far this year, analysts said. Many alcohol-free “spirits” use herbs, berries, roots and botanicals to create flavours similar to gin, prompting their use in…
Read MoreWhat makes Aldi’s new Scottish gin so special?
As the Old Curiosity Distillery prepares to restart its tours, Peter Ranscombe hears the story behind the gin it’s created for Aldi. GOOD things come to those who wait – or so the old saying goes. For Hamish Martin, that adage was certainly true. He took over a derelict site just south of Edinburgh in…
Read MoreLeith Spirits flooded with hand sanitiser orders
A DISTILLERY in Leith that gave away more than 15,000 bottles of hand santiser during just two months has now been inundated with orders for its gel. Leith Spirits, which paid £35,000 in duty to make the first batches of sanitiser, gave the initial runs to the police, healthcare staff and other key workers. Now,…
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