SECTION 2: FIRST JOURNEYS
The Gin Passport began during the pandemic with a simple idea. If we couldn't travel the world, perhaps we could still explore it through the stories behind the spirits we discovered.
Unable to visit distilleries or travel abroad, I started travelling vicariously through my gin collection, creating a series of virtual gin tours. What began with a journey through the Scottish Highlands soon expanded across Europe before becoming my biggest adventure yet – Around the World in 80 Gins – a World Gin Day project that travelled from country to country through eighty remarkable bottles.
As I planned each journey, I quickly realised there was far more to every bottle than the liquid inside. A label might hide a forgotten legend. A distillery could be rooted in centuries of local history. A botanical might reveal something unique about the landscape it came from.
More often than not, one discovery would lead to another, sending me down wonderfully unexpected rabbit holes of folklore, old newspaper archives, maps and local traditions. Some stories became days of research before they were finally ready to share.
That's when I discovered that every bottle really does hold a story.
Each gin became a gateway to somewhere else – an opportunity to explore the people, places, history and botanicals that shaped the spirit in the glass. Those original virtual journeys gradually became something much bigger, laying the foundations for what is now The Gin Passport Atlas.
Many readers have suggested these stories belong in a coffee table book but I decided that would be too static, so you'll find them all here – a collection of journeys, discoveries and tales from around the world, brought together one bottle at a time.
So pour yourself a G&T, settle into your favourite chair, and enjoy exploring the world through gin.
FIRST JOURNEYS
Choose a region and explore the gins, people and stories that bring each destination to life.
From local botanicals and distillery traditions to the folklore behind the label, every bottle opens the door to somewhere new.
"Show me a bottle and I'll tell you a story."
The Highlands Trail
A virtual drive through the Scottish Highlands, where misty landscapes, ancient stories and distinctive gin distilleries come together in one of Scotland's most atmospheric regions.
