LIDL has become the first supermarket in the UK to make its own Scottish craft gin.

Lidl is collaborating with renowned producer The Glasgow Distillery to make Aquine, a unique premium gin inspired by Scotland’s national animal – the unicorn.

Aquine has been created and distilled using pure Scottish water, representing the legendary myth that the unicorn’s horn can purify tainted waters.

Competitively priced at £19.99 – when other premium Scottish gins can cost closer to £35 – Aquine is a handcrafted Scottish dry gin based on an exclusive recipe that has been crafted and distilled by The Glasgow Distillery, in a deal worth £500,000.

Using eight carefully selected botanicals – orange peel, lemon peel, juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, rosehip, liquorice and bramble – Aquine is described as “full-bodied with a fruity finish”.

The gin is packaged in a bottle adorned by the mystical unicorn.

The name Aquine is a blend of the words Aqua and Equine, alluding to the original recipe and the legend of the Scottish unicorn.

Lidl’s head of buying in Scotland, Paul McQuade, said: “Following our successful inaugural Scottish Gin Festival earlier this year, and with the continued demand and interest in Scottish craft gin, creating our own Scottish Craft Gin Aquine is a natural next step.

“The Glasgow Distillery has an outstanding reputation within the Scottish gin market, producing their own top-quality premium range, and is therefore the perfect partner to team up with on this exclusive product.”

Mike Hayward, brand manager and co-founder of The Glasgow Distillery said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Lidl to create this bespoke handcrafted gin for them.

“We have been working with the supermarket for the past few months to perfect the unique taste of Aquine and are proud to bring the essence of the Scottish landscape to customers across the whole country.”

Aquine will form part of Lidl’s permanent gin range in Scotland.

Aquine will also be showcased

as part of the supermarket’s British Gin Festival at the start of November, which will give customers across the UK the opportunity to try it.