The Isle of Harris Distillery refill project was created to address the growing demand from customers to allow them to keep the glass Isle of Harris Gin bottle instead of throwing it out.
Although the glass bottle is fully recyclable, the beauty of the design makes it difficult for customers to ways part with it, and as a result many have a new lease of life as lamp bases, water bottles or to house fairy lights.
The Isle of Harris Distillery began exploring the potential of new refill solutions by experimenting with aluminium as a high-quality material with exceptional recyclability, lightness, and excellent carbon footprint figures.
The result is the new 500ml Refill Bottle, designed to refill the much-loved glass Isle of Harris Gin bottle when it’s time to top-up.
The new Refill Bottle is only available through a limited annual subscription service initially as the first stages of the refill project begins.
“We’ve been looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint without losing the pleasure of pouring from our lovely gin bottle.
"We learnt that aluminum can be the most recyclable of materials and so this new subscription service looks like a great solution” said Simon Erlanger, managing director at the Isle of Harris Distillery.
The one year subscription service, is available now online, and is priced at £345.50
This includes:
• A 500ml aluminum Refill Bottle of Isle of Harris Gin sent direct to your door.
• 1 of 12 Isle of Harris landscape photographic postcards by Peter Kwasniewski to collect and keep.
• An exclusive shop offer code to use with 1 of 12 specially chosen independent island partners.
• The monthly Harris eco e-newsletter sent to your inbox with environmental stores and additional offers.
• The first bottle (including shipping) is free.
The first Refill Bottle of your new subscription will be shipped to customers in 3-5 working days.
Subsequent refill bottles will then be sent after the 20th of the following month and each month thereafter.
The Isle of Harris is a small island in the Outer Hebrides, off the far north-western coast of Scotland, on the edge of the wild Atlantic Ocean.
The Isle of Harris Distillery, or the Social Distillery as it is often referred to, was opened in October 2015, in the small harbour village of Tarbert.
The award-winning Isle of Harris Gin is the distillery’s inaugural spirit, distilled in Tarbert in a small copper gin still, known as ‘The Dottach’.
Juniper, Coriander, Angelica Root, Orris Root, Cubebs, Bitter Orange Peel, Liquorice and Cassia Bark all play their role in defining the taste of the gin, but it is Sugar Kelp that marks out this spirit.
Sustainably harvested by a local diver from around the seas of the Outer Hebrides, the Sugar Kelp creates subtle coastal notes.
The distillers’ discard, instead of recycling, the ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ of the spirit run, leaving only the best of the distillate’s ‘heart’ helping to create a smoothness.