To achieve the characteristics of a very flavoursome and well-balanced spirit, the gin consists of 10 commonly used botanicals, with the addition of 2 which are unique, namely Icelandic moss and sheep sorrel – both grow on the estate in abundance.
Either through maceration or vapour infusion, these produce a gin which our expert tasting panel described as having earthy and spicy characteristics, being deep in flavour, with a very pleasant floral aroma. A true taste of Kintyre!
Our small copper pot still, was imported from Germany and has a fill capacity of only 230 litres of spirit, resulting in a truly hand crafted gin. The still is run on a three-phase electricity supply direct from our own hydro-electric scheme. During periods of drought we have the ability to import electricity direct from the grid to maintain a steady flow of gin.
This fine looking still is named Big Don, a nod to Niall and Kenny’s father who sadly passed away during the initial stages of the distillery’s development. A keen gin drinker, and luckily for us, someone with a great sense of humour, Donald will be watching on with interest!
We decided to name our batches with a Kintyre theme, rather than simply number them, and began with place names significant to Kintyre. We follow the Gaelic alphabet which is slightly more forgiving as it misses out some of the tricky letters! Argyll was our very first batch and that series was accompanied by engaging images from around Kintyre. A compilation of these can be seen on YouTube.
We used Kintyre slang words and local dialect for the second series of batches and recruited local volunteers to be filmed saying particular words. See our YouTube channel for the short clips.
It is a great way to showcase everything that is wonderful about Kintyre. We are privileged to live and work in this amazing part of Scotland and are proud to name our gin after it.
