Speyside Distillery’s first foray into the gin category is certainly intriguing. Paying homage to both their fascinating history and the much-loved poetry of Lord Byron, they’ve found an unusual brand story for the expressions.

 

Tasting notes

On the nose there’s a refreshing, piney juniper with citrus lingering in the background.

To taste, it’s sweet and fruity with citrus making itself known. The finish has a warming, peppery endurance, while juniper underpins it all in the background.

With tonic, the sweet berry flavours are accentuated, while there’s a more herbaceous mid-palate. The juniper and spice on the finish are toned down a little, compared to neat and it’s a refreshing G&T.

Botanicals

• Bird cherry
• Lemon-scented fern
• Lady’s bedstraw
• Rowan
• Wild thyme
• Juniper
• Blaeberry

Perfect serve

• Ice
• Tonic to taste
• Lemon

Or for a different take:

• Frozen blueberries
• A dash of lime juice
• Tonic to taste

By Euan Harris

The Byron’s Gin Story

Nestled in the stunning Cairngorms mountains sits Speyside Distillery. Famous for SPEY single malt whisky, the distillery launched Byron’s Gin in late 2017, with more than a nod towards their long history.

Lord Byron is one of the most famous poets of the Romantic movement. In 1815, to celebrate his wedding, he’s said to have gifted King George III a cask of Scotch whisky, thought to be SPEY Single Malt.

Fast-forward more than 200 years, and the distillery has launched a quite unique gin in homage to their connections with the flamboyant wordsmith.
In Speyside Distillery’s own words Byron’s Gin was crafted to “celebrate Lord Byron’s love of the Scottish Highlands which inspired him to pen some of his most beautiful and memorable poetry.”

To select the botanicals for this boutique gin, the distillery sought the help of Andy Amphlett, County Recorder for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. The resulting collaboration produced two expressions of Byron’s Gin – Bird Cherry and Melancholy Thistle. As the botanicals are seasonal in nature, only 900 bottles of each expression from batch 1 were made. The distillery, converted from a mill which dates back to the 1700s, draws its water from the Spey River tributary, the River Tromie. Combined with its garden botanicals, this is a gin full of Highland provenance.

Packaging

There’s nothing abstract about the bottle concept; bold and straight to the point with the bard himself blazoned on the label. The contours of the bottle are also a throwback, with its slender appearance and heavy-duty stopper.

Attached to the neck is a bookmark. Here it tells of Byron’s early life and how he fell in love with the Scottish Highlands, in particular, the Cairngorms.

It also tells of his love of gin, and how it was the drink he and his much-publicised lover, Lady Caroline Lamb, would enjoy in the evenings. Inscribed on the reverse is a love letter from Byron to Lady Caroline.