FIRST JOURNEYS - THE HIGHLANDS TRAIL- PIN 05 OF 22
TIREE GIN, Scotland
A JOURNEY EXPLORING THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND
Sail away, sail away, sail away…
Those familiar lyrics from Enya's Orinoco Flow famously give a nod to Tiree, and this remote Hebridean island was the perfect next stop on our Scottish gin journey.
Known as the "Land Below the Waves", Tiree is one of the most westerly islands of the Inner Hebrides. With a population of around 650, life here has always been shaped by the sea, the land and the elements. Crofting, fishing and tourism remain at the heart of island life, while fertile soil, long hours of sunshine and strong Atlantic winds make Tiree both an agricultural haven and a world-renowned windsurfing destination.
To understand the story behind Tyree Gin, you first need to understand the island's past.
Across parts of the Hebrides, traces of the old runrig system can still be found—strips of commonly farmed land that existed before the crofting system introduced during the Highland Clearances. These turbulent years saw traditional ways of life disrupted as landowners transformed the landscape, often replacing communities with large-scale sheep farming.
Many islanders were forced to leave their homes, while those who remained adapted to smaller crofts and relied on fishing, kelp harvesting and other ways to survive.
For generations, distilling was also part of island life. Making whisky from limited resources such as barley provided crofters with a valuable source of income, but it was heavily controlled by landowners and authorities. By the early 1800s, illicit distilling had largely disappeared from Tiree.
More than two centuries later, the island's distilling story began again.
In 2019, Ian Smith and Alain Campbell founded the Tiree Whisky Company, reviving a lost tradition and bringing legal distilling back to the island for the first time in generations. Their Tyree Gin celebrates the landscape around them, using locally inspired botanicals—including kelp—to create a spirit that reflects the island's unique character.
The hope was not only to create a distinctive gin, but to shine a spotlight on Tiree itself, supporting the local economy and sharing the island's story with a wider audience.
From ancient farming systems and island folklore to a new generation of distillers, Tiree proves that even the most remote places have stories waiting to be rediscovered.
For today's serve, I couldn't resist a cocktail that brings together Scotland's two great spirits:
The Suffering Bastard
- 25ml Tyree Gin
- 25ml Single Malt Whisky
- 25ml Lime Juice
- A dash of bitters
- Topped with ginger ale
A refreshing and unexpected combination that feels perfectly suited to a place where tradition and reinvention meet.