A SPIRITS business founded earlier this year by a husband and wife team will later today launch a new “single juniper” gin made on the banks of Loch Ness.
General practitioner (GP) Lorien Cameron-Ross and retired detective Kevin Cameron-Ross created Loch Ness Spirits after a gin tour around Inverness revealed to them the relative scarcity of the Highland juniper that grew on their land.
The first launch from the business is the £45 small batch ‘Real & Rare’ Highland gin, made with premium black gold juniper, hand-picked botanicals from around Loch Ness and water sourced from a private aquifer on the family estate.
Ms Cameron-Ross, whose family has lived in the area since 1520, said she and her husband will not reveal the botanicals used in the gin, instead they are encouraging customers to draw their own conclusions on the gin’s flavours.
Craft gin has become a major factor in the renaissance of gin, which analysts Mintel expect to be worth £1.3bn in the UK by 2020. In the Highlands, there are a growing number of gin distillers, including Crossbill gin from Aviemore, and Strathearn – which is one of many Scottish distilleries producing gin while its whisky product matures.
The first batch of 500 bottles of Loch Ness Gin was made at Strathearn distillery while the second batch will be made on the family estate now their own “old-fashioned” still has been installed.
“The aim has always been to produce something that locals are proud of,” said Ms Cameron-Ross. “We never wanted to make something too tartan with cartoon Nessies on it.”
Such is the quality, when Ms Cameron-Ross sent a blank bottle to the Global Gin Master competition, it came home with a gold medal in the ultra-premium category, and a silver medal in the London Dry category.
“It completely validated what we were doing,” she said.
The ambition is to bring out different expressions with Ms Cameron-Ross comparing the first batch of “single juniper” gin to a single malt whisky.
“We’re thinking about bringing out blends, looking at other junipers, blending with our Highland juniper,” she said.
The business also has the trademarks for Loch Ness Vodka and Loch Ness Rum, while Ms Cameron-Ross said they would likely make use of sloe berries on the estate.
“It’s all at our fingertips. People have been waiting for an Inverness gin. The highlands can do things, we’re not country bumpkins with illicit stills. We can provide premium quality.”
With 150 bottles from the first batch pre-sold, Ms Cameron-Ross said they would soon begin production of the second batch, but added that scale would remain small as “we are limited by the amount of juniper I can pick on my day off”.
While many of these bottles were hand-delivered locally, others have been sent to New Zealand, Chicago and Barcelona.
Inverness bar Scotch and Wry has been serving the gin ahead of its launch, with feedback hugely positive.
The couple used their own saving to fund the venture, asking for help from experts when questions needed answered. To date, Ms Cameron-Ross said they had turned down four approaches from would-be investors.
“Because we picked our own botanicals and set up in our own steading at the Loch, there was less outlay. So we’ve avoided crowdfunding and investors,” said Ms Cameron-Ross.
“We don’t know how it’s going to go and if we’re going to fail I don’t want to be responsible for other people’s failures. We were advised to grow slowly, not get into debt and not take investors on.”
The gin will be sold direct from its website, though some select establishments will stock it because “you need people to be able to go in and pick up a bottle”.
A number of bars have also made enquiries about stocking the gin. And a 100ml ‘monster miniature’ will be made with hopes of distribution in the travel channel.
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