FIRST JOURNEYS - THE HIGHLANDS TRAIL- PIN 12 OF 22
EENOO GIN, Royal Deeside, Scotland
A JOURNEY EXPLORING THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND
Our next stop takes us to Lost Loch Spirits, a distillery with a fascinating story hidden among the landscapes of Royal Deeside.
Located on the shores of Loch Auchlossan, the distillery sits beside a loch that was drained in the 19th century to create agricultural land. It is a fitting location for a distillery built around rediscovering forgotten stories, local landscapes and the characters who have shaped the area.
Founded by Peter Dignan and Richard Pierce, Lost Loch Spirits was created with a simple idea: to make spirits with character, each connected to the folklore, history and people of the surrounding region.
For this stop, the gin is EeNoo.
The name comes from old Scots, meaning “now”, “at once” or “in the present moment”. But while researching the word, the founders uncovered a much more unexpected story—one that connected Scotland with the Arctic waters of Baffin Island.
In 1839, an Inuit teenager named Eenoolooapik travelled to Aberdeen aboard the whaling ship Neptune.
During his time in Scotland, he learned to read and write, shared knowledge of his homeland and developed friendships with those he met. The following year, he returned to Baffin Island aboard the Bon Accord, carrying gifts from his Scottish friends and using his detailed knowledge of the local coastline to help with the exploration of Cumberland Sound.
This remarkable story became the inspiration behind EeNoo Gin.
The gin’s botanicals reflect the connection between Scotland and the Arctic landscapes that inspired the name. Local brambles, raspberries and rosehip are combined with Scottish heather and honey, creating a spirit with bright berry notes and a gentle floral character.
The story continues through the bottle design itself.
Created as a visual representation of the journey between Scotland and the Arctic, the label draws inspiration from Inuit artwork and the remarkable life of Eenoolooapik.
At the centre of the design is an Inuit owl headdress, a symbol chosen to represent wisdom, knowledge and the exchange of ideas between cultures. Surrounding it are sandhill cranes, birds associated with migration and travel, reflecting the incredible journey that brought Eenoolooapik from Baffin Island to Scotland and back again.
The hourglass that frames the design represents the meaning behind the name EeNoo—“now”, the present moment—and the passing of time that connects past and future. Berry branches held in the cranes’ beaks reference the botanicals found within the gin, linking the natural landscapes of Scotland and the Arctic story that inspired the spirit.
Every element of the label has been carefully considered: the passage of time, the movement between continents, the sharing of knowledge and the idea that a single encounter can leave a lasting mark across generations.
From a forgotten loch in Aberdeenshire to an extraordinary journey across the Atlantic, EeNoo is a reminder that the most interesting discoveries often begin with a single word, a single bottle and a story waiting to be uncovered.
For today's serve, I wanted to keep things simple and let those berry notes shine.
EeNoo Berry Serve
- 50ml EeNoo Gin
- 15ml Chambord
- Topped with Rhubarb & Ginger Tonic
Fresh, fruity and beautifully balanced, it’s a serve that brings out the character of the gin while celebrating the unexpected story behind the bottle.