The first gin from Scotland’s newest grain-to-glass distillery is being released this month.
Sutors, based at Balinroich near Tain, is one of a small band of distilleries in the UK which makes its own spirit, using ingredients grown on its own doorstep.
Founded by IT specialist Stuart Wells and agronomist Ed Scaman, the distillery takes barley and wheat from neighbouring farms, malts it and makes its own spirit from scratch.
The botanicals – including the juniper – are hand-picked in the rich lands around them on the Sutors, the headlands which guard the entrance to the Cromarty Firth.
The harvest from the hills and shoreline means there is bog myrtle and sea buckthorn in Sutors Gin, which is diluted with pure filtered Highland water.
Ed and Stuart’s fully equipped distillery near North Sutor is in a coach house and has taken almost three years to set up. The project was supported by crowdfunding and members of the Sutors 500 Club who are now claiming the first bottles in return for their investment.
Determined to have only the best local ingredients, Ed shepherded the grain from planting and checked to ensure its quality with the farmer right up until harvest.
To ensure that grain has been malted to the highest standard, Ed and Stuart decided to build one of Scotland’s smallest malt houses to malt it in just the way they wanted. With this bespoke spirit, Ed and Stuart hand craft their gin using a modern G-Still reflux still, chosen to meet their specifications.
The resulting London Dry-style gin is warm and earthy with pine and citrus notes.
Stuart said: ‘We are thrilled to be sharing our Sutors Gin with everyone. It has been a long road to create this very special product.
‘When we set out to bring our dream to life, we wanted to be true to our vision of creating a gin rooted in our own landscape.
‘This takes time as we made sure every detail of our distilling process makes the very best of our area’s natural resources.
‘We think the result is an authentic Scottish gin which is fine enough to sip with ice or dilute with tonic. Sutors Gin really is the Highlands distilled.’
To find out more about Sutors Gin visit sutorsgin.com
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