Eenoo – always time for a gin

I was lucky enough to be given a sample of the brand new gin from Lost Loch Distillery – Eenoo.

Given the translation – From the old Scots tongue; eenoo – just now, at the present time, in a short time, at once. I was surprised that I was instantly transported to summertime.

The first thing that hit my nose was that of summer fruits and a beautiful and fresh aroma. The gin is really smooth and tastes amazing neat. The complexion changed with the tonic (Fever Tree) and given the dreich weather outside, the clouds seem to disappear.

This is an exceptionally easy gin to savour with or without tonic, and I only wish I could have garnished it with fresh berries.

This delightful gin will be officially launched at GIN:NE Red Carpet Event, 08/02/18, and will be available in shops from February.

From Peter Dignan, Lost Loch Distillery –

“From the old Scots tongue; eenoo – just now, at the present time, in a short time, at once. 

Scottish gin is at the forefront of a recent gin renaissance and so we thought eenoo a fine and fitting name for our gin, as the present time is the heyday of gin production in Scotland.

When we crafted our gin, eenoo, we wanted to create a flavour profile that encompassed the essence of a traditional gin whilst embracing flavours of the Scottish Highlands. 

eenoo is distilled with Royal Deeside honey. The flavour profile of our honey is unique to the local area and is made up of heather, willow herb and clover pollen.  To complement the honey we add heather flowers and other local botanicals.  We forage a percentage of our brambleberries, raspberries and rosehip from the Deeside area and source the remainder from berry farms in Aberdeenshire and Angus.  As Scottish juniper is in a critical state of decline, we source the finest juniper from the Italian highlands. We then add coriander seeds, angelica root, liquorice root, orange and lemon peel to give our gin a traditional yet smooth fruity profile.

Water from an ancient spring in the Cairngorms National Park is added to the mix.  The water is some of the purest in the world and spends 50 years being gently filtered through layers of underground rocks and crevices before becoming part of our gin. 

Our label artwork pays tribute to an Inuit called Eenoo who ventured to Aberdeenshire in the 1800s.   May his story live on and might you drink a wee toast to his adventurous spirit.” 

 Here’s his story:

The forgotten tale of an Inuit called Eenoo and his unusual visit to Scotland

In November 1839 Eenoolooapik, or Eenoo, arrived in Aberdeen aboard the whaling ship Neptune.  Having joined the vessel at Baffin Island, Canada, Eenoo had expressed a desire to visit Scotland. He spent his time in Aberdeenshire learning western ways and teaching his Inuit skills to the locals which included showing his Qajaq (canoe) skills on the River Dee. In April 1840 Eenoo joined the Bon Accord, a whaling ship returning to Baffin Island.  After stops in Greenland he guided the vessel into the Cumberland Sound and was part responsible for its rediscovery by Europeans.  Eenoo returned to his homeland in 1840 but died in 1847 leaving a son Angalook.

The full story is too long to attempt to tell here but his travels were documented by Alexander M’Donald and published in “A Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Eenoolooapik”, 1841.

eenoo – always time for gin”