THE GIN PASSPORT ATLAS - DISTILLERY STORY- PINNED ON THE MAP - EUROPE
ISLE OF BUTE GIN, Scotland, UK
Island life in a glass.
Bute is one of those Scottish islands that is surprisingly easy to get to. The main ferry from Wemyss Bay takes just 35 minutes to reach Rothesay, the island's principal town, so you can be sipping a gin in Bute before you've had time to finish your coffee.
There is also a much shorter crossing from Colintraive to Rhubodach in the north, which takes around five minutes.
Rothesay has all the charm you'd expect from a Victorian seaside resort, but venture beyond the town and Bute becomes wonderfully wild. There are rolling hills, heather-covered moorland, woodland, sandy beaches and plenty of coastline to explore.
It is this mixture of landscapes, scents and island life that inspired Isle of Bute Distillery.
The distillery began in 2018, initially operating in Glasgow before moving production to Rothesay in 2020. Today, the distillery is based at Bute Yard, a food, drink and events space in the heart of Rothesay.
At the centre of the operation is Audrey, their traditional 200-litre Portuguese copper still. The botanicals are macerated with grain spirit and water from nearby Loch Ascog, and the entire distilling process takes around eight hours. Everything is then bottled and finished by hand on Bute.
I rather like the fact that the island isn't simply inspiration for the branding. Bute is actually part of the gin.
The range has grown considerably, with Gorse, Heather, Island, Oaked and Oyster Gin all showcasing different aspects of the island. The distillery is particularly proud of its Oyster Gin, made using Scottish oyster shells and described as the world's first oyster gin.
My bottle, however, is Island Gin, and this one takes its inspiration somewhere rather more tropical.
It is herbaceous, fruity and packed with pineapple and mint. The idea came from a pineapple, mint and chilli salsa made by Simon's aunt, which sounds like a pretty good starting point for a gin to me!
There is a lovely freshness to it, with the fruit bringing a gentle sweetness while the herbs keep everything bright and lively. It isn't what you might expect from an island gin, but then Bute isn't all rugged coastline and heather either. There are beaches, gardens and plenty of sunshine when the Scottish weather behaves itself.
The bottle is beautiful too, featuring Morning Reflections, Port Bannatyne, painted by local Scottish landscape artist Emma S Davis. It gives the bottle a real connection to the island rather than simply putting a picture of Scotland on the label.
The range also includes Oaked Gin, which I find particularly intriguing. Rather than simply resting finished gin in a whisky barrel, the gin is distilled using oak from Scottish whisky barrels to extract natural vanilla flavours. The result is a creamy, warming gin with vanilla, raisin and stone-fruit notes.
There is clearly plenty more to discover from this little island distillery. Perhaps I'll just have to take that 35-minute ferry and investigate for myself.
"A LITTLE BIT OF BUTE, WITH A TROPICAL TWIST"
For this one, the suggested serve is a French Martini, which makes perfect sense given those tropical flavours. I can also see it working beautifully with a light tonic, particularly with fresh mint or a little pineapple.
THE FRENCH MARTINI
50ml Island Gin
25ml pineapple juice
15ml raspberry liqueur
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe or Martini glass.
Show me a bottle and
I'll tell you a story.