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Regions

Islands

Distinctive. Coastal. Pure. · 10 distilleries

Island distilleries have the tightest relationship with their own ground of anyone in Scottish gin. Several of them forage the whole botanical bill within walking distance of the still, and a few use seaweed — sugar kelp, carrageen — which is not a marketing flourish so much as the nearest thing growing. The ferry timetable is part of the business model.

Distilleries in Islands

Every one with a still house in the region.

See their gins

Bruichladdich Distillery

Bruichladdich, Islay

The Islay malt distillery on the shore of Loch Indaal. The Botanist, launched in 2011, is distilled there in a converted Lomond still and is built on botanicals foraged on Islay itself.

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

Isle of Harris Distillery

Tarbert, Isle of Harris

Built at Tarbert as a social enterprise — the point of it was jobs on Harris as much as spirit. The gin uses sugar kelp hand-cut by a local diver from the sea lochs around the island.

Isle of Harris Gin

North Uist Distillery

North Uist, Outer Hebrides

A small Hebridean distillery on North Uist, founded by two islanders. Downpour is named for what the weather does there, which is fair.

Downpour Gin

Lussa Gin

Ardlussa, Isle of Jura

At the far north end of Jura, up a single-track road past the Corryvreckan, three women grow and gather every botanical that goes into the gin on the island itself.

Lussa Gin

Tobermory Distillery

Tobermory, Isle of Mull

On the waterfront at Tobermory, behind the painted houses. One of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland, and now making gin as well as malt.

Tobermory Hebridean Gin

Deerness Distillery

Newark, Orkney

A family distillery on the east mainland of Orkney, a few fields from the sea. Sea Glass is named after what washes up on the beach below.

Sea Glass Gin, Into The Wild Gin

Orkney Distilling

Kirkwall, Orkney

On the Ayre Road at Kirkwall harbour, with a visitor centre looking out over the water. Kirkjuvagr is the old Norse name for Kirkwall.

Kirkjuvagr Orkney Gin

Shetland Reel

Unst, Shetland

The most northerly distillery in the British Isles, on Unst, in buildings that were once part of the RAF Saxa Vord base.

Shetland Reel Original Gin

Isle of Skye Distillers

Portree, Isle of Skye

A family distillery in Portree, run by two brothers. Misty Isle is the island’s own nickname — An t-Eilean Sgitheanach.

Misty Isle Gin, Tommy's Gin

Isle of Raasay Distillery

Isle of Raasay

Raasay’s first legal distillery, on a small island off Skye with a population in the low hundreds, with rooms above it looking across the Sound.

Isle of Raasay Gin

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