WITH World Gin Day on June 9 fast approaching, we spoke with Alistair Wilson, co-founder and managing director at Isle of Skye Distillers, about finding the perfect balance of gin botanicals, going into business with his brother, and, of course, the best way to serve an ice-cold Misty Isle Gin …
Tell us about Isle of Skye Distillers. How did it all begin?
My brother Thomas and I founded the distillery three years ago – we hatched a plan to give up our “day jobs” and create the first gin distillery on the Isle of Skye.
My background is in the hospitality industry; I’ve managed various hotels and restaurants from Portree to Glasgow, while Thomas has worked as a builder, served in the parachute regiment, and he’s still very active as a volunteer fireman here in Skye, so between us we have a fair set of customer service, organisation and construction skills that we wanted to put to good use. We built our small-batch distillery behind our family home in Portree, launched the first batch of Misty Isle Gin in 2016, and we haven’t looked back.
How did you decide on a recipe for Misty Isle Gin?
Misty Isle Gin was developed using “Wee Tommy”, our 1 litre still, in Thomas’s kitchen! We went through 14 recipes in the production process, before we eventually chose two and blind-tasted them along with four other top Scottish brands at a local pub in Portree. As it turns out, the very first recipe that we created was the overall winner at the tasting – and that’s the Misty Isle recipe that we still use today, based on a precise balance of 11 botanicals. These include juniper, coriander, grains of paradise, orris root, liquorice root, black cubebs, angelica root, lemon peel, lemon verbena, cassia bark, and a final one which I’m going to keep secret, with only one clue – it can only be found at high altitude on the Isle of Skye…
We personally taste every litre during distillation to make sure the balance of botanicals is just right. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!
With so many gins on the market, how is Misty Isle Gin different?
Provenance is absolutely crucial for us. Thomas and myself were both brought up here on Skye – we’re so proud to call this island our home, and we can’t imagine distilling our gin anywhere else. We forage for juniper berries locally which we use to produce Misty Isle, and even the water we use is drawn less than three miles from the distillery. Tourism in Skye is always increasing, of course, and when people visit an area, they like to try local produce. That’s why provenance of ingredients is so important.
How should Misty Isle Gin be served?
We recommend a Scottish tonic water – Walter Gregor’s is our favourite – and a twist of orange peel.
What can we expect from Isle of Skye Distillers over the next few months?
We are in the process of opening our Gin School just now, which will be another string to the bow of tourism in Skye. Customers will be able to distil their very own one-off bottle, design their own label and learn more about us and the ever-increasing gin industry in Scotland. We’ll have the school in the back of our new shop in Portree which also stocks quite a few Scottish gins and whiskies. Watch this space!
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