The Old Curiosity Distillery, based in Edinburgh, is launching the UK’s first truly wild gin, and 20 per cent of proceeds will go to RSPB Scotland’s work in preserving the Flow Country’s threatened peatland.
The Flow Country is the world’s largest blanket bog and acts as a natural store for carbon, holding twice that of all the trees in the UK.
The Fringe exhibition Below the Blanket, which was held in Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens in August, showcased artist's impressions, sounds and sights of the Flow Country and gave visitors the chance to try the Wild gin before its release.
The newest addition to The Old Curiosity Distillery’s Secret Garden Gin collection, Wild gin is a tribute to this spectacular landscape and vital work of RSPB Scotland.
Picture: Wild Gin
Distilled with nine wild botanicals and herbs, Wild gin is a twist on the classic London dry gin. The drink allows the flavours of the indigenous wild herbs to come through in the taste and aroma, encapsulating the Flow Country and resulting in a complex and balanced gin.
Alongside juniper Wild gin is created with freshly distilled sweet cicely, bog myrtle, dwarf birch, angelica root, winter savory, wood avens, sweet woodruff, yarrow and nettle.
Though some of these herbs can be found in the wild landscape of The Flow Country, The Old Curiosity Distillery grow the herbs in its Secret Herb Garden to ensure it does not disrupt the delicate ecosystem.
The distillery’s devotion for preserving nature transpires into the packaging, which is designed to benefit wildlife.
The bottle is presented in a wooden box which can be re-used as a bird box and the swing tag is infused with British wild flower seeds which can be planted directly into the ground, and the label is made from 30 per cent grass.
Best enjoyed with tonic and a sprig of fresh nettle, Wild Gin is 40% ABV and is available in 50cl bottles from department stores including Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Fenwick with a RRPof £32.
