Beinn An Tuirc Distillery

Lephincorrach Farm

Torrisdale, Campbeltown,

History: Torrisdale Castle Estate can be found on the Kintyre peninsula, near Campbeltown. The estate has been in the hands of the Macalister Hall family since 1872. Today it is run by Niall and Emma Macalister Hall, who decided to build a distillery in a former piggery building located on the estate. The estate comprises around 1,200 acres of hill, forest and farm land and boasts magnificent views over the Kilbrannan Sound to the Isle of Arran. Kintyre Gin was launched last summer and has steadily been picking up loyal followers ever since. Family and community is important to the owners: even their copper still named Big Don, in memory of Kenny’s father, a gin lover, who sadly passed away during the initial stages of the distillery’s development.

The gin: If I'm honest I do often find myself saying: "Oh no, not another gin!” Kintyre, however stood out for me. Not only does the liquid taste great with 12 botanicals, including two that are unique to this gin. Icelandic moss and sheep sorrel both grow on the estate and give the gin a spicy characteristic with a deep flavour and a very pleasant floral aroma. The bottle itself is also beautiful, which helps the brand stand out. With so many gins out there it is difficult to do that. Of course the taste of the gin is important but if you want to stand out from the crowd then the look and feel of the brand must be appealing. Kintyre is one of the "best-looking” gins I have seen in a while. Even their website, social media and messaging platforms show that a lot of time and effort has been spent in making sure they look great and that people know what they are all about. This is where a lot of gins fall down but Kintyre looks like it is here to fight harder to be seen and heard above the other plethora of Scottish gin brands.

Why visit? This is a stunning part of Scotland, and indeed of the world, so regardless of whether you like gin, you really should be visiting the area. Having said that, gin is always a good reason to visit anywhere. If you call ahead you can book a tour with the team and gain real insight into how they make the gin. You'll even get a delicious gin and tonic in their beautiful tasting room.

Interesting fact: They have also done their part here for the environment by making sure that Kintyre Gin is sustainably produced using their own renewable energy, powered from the small hydro-electric scheme at Torrisdale Castle Estate. Water is sourced from the hill from which the distillery takes its name. This water is used to power their copper still which produces the gin. ‘Beinn an Tuirc’ translates from Gaelic as "The Hill of the Wild Boar" (which you can see on the bottle) and is the highest point in Kintyre, located above the distillery building.

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