Reasons to be cheerful in a cold, dark January
If you’re anything like us, you’re probably still wishing people you see a ‘Happy New Year’ (when does that end, exactly?) and you might even be persisting with your new year resolutions and good intentions.
But, if we’re honest, every time we look at the news, or the weather forecast this month, we’re struggling to find many moments of joy.
But that doesn’t mean we’ll stop trying! We’ve been asking around to see what our friends in The Scottish Gin industry have got to be cheerful about this month and looking ahead to 2020 and decided to share them here to remind us all of the good times ahead!
We’ve added a few thoughts from the team here at The Scottish Gin Society too:
We’re still here and we’re amazing!
When this article is published, we will be halfway through January 2020. That was quick, wasn’t it? See, whether you’re counting the days of Dry January, or waiting for payday, you don’t have too long to wait.
We saw this post online and thought we’d share it. If you were born in the 70’s – you deserve a G&T!
New Year, New Gins
No, we don’t mean new Scottish Gins launching into the market in 2020 (although we’re sure there will be plenty if 2019 was anything to go by). But this year, you have the opportunity to sample new and exciting gins you’ve never tried before.
There are now over 100 distilleries in Scotland producing a range of wonderful Scottish Gins, so sit down, have a browse of our online A-Z and choose some new expressions to try this year – why not arrange a regular get-together with friends, where you each bring a gin you’ve never tried before? Something to look forward to!
Talking of trying new things…
Tasting a new gin isn’t the only adventure you can plan for 2020. Recent research showed that new experiences are good for your mental health and wellbeing.
Scotland is a big and beautiful country, so why not combine your love of gin with a sense of adventure and go on a distillery road trip? Many of Scotland’s distilleries now offer tours, experiences and gin schools, so take a look at our online distillery map and get planning!
Exciting plans
Francesca from The Old Curiosity Distillery in Edinburgh isn’t feeling gloomy this January, she says:
Dry January isn’t a thing at The Old Curiosity, with basically daily tastings we don’t think about the dreary weather, only about all the exciting plans we have for this new year.
New release
When we asked the team at Isle of Skye Distillers what they are looking forward to in 2020, Alistair replied, somewhat cryptically,
We should have something new being released soon 😁
What will it be? We can’t wait to find out and we will be sure to share the news with you as soon as we get it!
A flying start
The team at Porter’s Gin in Aberdeen have plenty to smile about already this year, Founder Josh explains:
Porter’s was featured in drinks international’s top 10 trending gin brands for the first time ever.
And we have finally landed stock in the USA!
A good start to the 20s for us 😁
A bit of a breather
James Sutherland, co-owner of 56 North, Edinburgh, where they produce South Loch Gin, sees January as an opportunity:
Ginuary (sorry for the bad puns) is one of my favourite months, it’s one of the few months of the year I get lots of time for me as nothing exciting goes on. I have a very simple rule where I don’t go dry instead I simply go back to the gins I’ve not tried in ages. No-one launches anything new in January so why not dig out those Scottish gins you’ve not tried in ages but totally love….
New wheels
Noru Innes, co-founder of Pixel Spirits, has a very particular reason to look forward to this year:
Unfortunately our car was written off due to an accident (black ice…) but it gave us a reason to finally get our own van instead of renting one when needed!
Can’t wait to get our company branding on it as well 🙂
After hearing so much positivity from our friends in the Scottish Gin community, our spirits have been lifted. So much so, we feel like we might just ditch the January blues and raise a glass to 2020 all over again!
