Gin Bothy

Producer: Gin Bothy, Angus
Product: Raspberry Gin
Region: Scotland
Category: From the field, primary
What they do:
Gin producers don’t come more small-scale and artisanal than Gin Bothy. Their wares are hand-batched, hand-bottled and infused with hand-picked local seasonal fruit.

The Raspberry Gin uses fresh berries grown in Angus and Perthshire and the fruit is macerated in the gin for up to three months and hand-turned daily until their sweet-sharp flavour and distinctive colour has infused into the spirit. The boozy, macerated fruit is filtered out and made into jam so it doesn’t go to waste.
Gin Bothy is located in the Angus glens, surrounded by an abundance of natural produce, and the company is proud to adhere to the historic Seasonal Foraging Calendar used by the farm on which their bothy (the stone shelters which traditionally housed a farm’s unmarried labourers) is based. As well as offering customers money off for every bottle returned for refill, Gin Bothy works with the Woodland Trust to help preserve one of Scotland’s oldest pine forests in Loch Arkaig. Pine needles from its trees are one of several Scottish botanicals (plant-based flavourings) in their Original Gin, and the team donate one pound to the Woodland Trust for each bottle of Original Gin that they sell.

What the judges said:
The judges liked the provenance of this product, using local berries and supporting endangered woodland. They also admired the idea of encouraging the return and re-use of the impressive-looking bottles.
Visit the website:  Gin Bothy