 It is not all about the Water of Life – Gin is also big business here. If you take the eastern section of the NC500 to Dunnet in Caithness, you will find Dunnet Bay Distillers who produce the most amazing gin and vodka. Whereas most distillers produce large quantities of the same liquor, Dunnet Bay produce small quantities of different gins and vodkas. Each bottle is filled, hand waxed, batch numbered and signed before it leaves the distillery. Rock Rose Gin and Holy Grass Vodka are to be found in all the best places, including, of course, our Luxury Scotland hotels. Each year a new vintage is produced using local botanicals so that the flavour changes over time. The botanical used for Holy Grass Vodka used to be put on church floors to give a sweet, vanilla smell when walked over. Rock Rose Gin uses Rhodelia rosea, commonly known as rose root which many years ago used to grow on the wild, exposed cliffs.


The annual North-East Scotland Food &


Drink Awards are open to food and drink producers based in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, to recognise excellence in farm produce and encourage innovative new companies. Best Young Business winner 2017


is Fierce Beer whose motto is flavour, quality, provenance; Gordon Castle Walled Garden was voted Best Food Tourism Experience with home grown produce from garden to plate. For Best New Product, the award was presented to Walter Gregor’s Tonic Water. Summerhouse Drinks (noted for their range of real lemonades) has been extremely innovative to embrace the flourishing Scottish gin market to create Walter Gregor’s Tonic Water, handcrafted on Manse Farm, Aberdeenshire. The natural ingredients include citrus, quinine and carbonated Scottish water. But who is Walter Gregor? He was a Minster of the Parish in Pitsligo from 1863, as well as being a folklorist, academic and lover of plants. The key botanicals selected for the Tonic are grown in Gregor’s former garden at the Manse.


What better way to toast the high quality


of the region’s cuisine and hospitality than with an artisan-crafted Scottish Gin and Tonic. This reflects the traditions of the past combined with new creative, culinary ventures to entice visitors to experience the true taste of the north and north east of Scotland.


Slainte Mhath - Cheers!


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