Gin is a difficult beast to master and takes the same dollops of patience and skill to create as perhaps a blended whisky or a tea. We have a designated team who work on creating our core range and experimenting into the wilder sides of things through our cottage series.
We recently started our own gin garden to make the process more sustainable and local to Fife than it has been before. Through this we hope to grow botanicals in our back yard, so to speak, that can replace the ones we have sourced from around the world in the past.
Of course, the climate and conditions mean we will never be able to use the exact same flower, or root, or peel. But, we are embarking on a journey to use local produce to arrive at the same destination: nature distilled gin.
Juniper has forever been the core ingredient in gin since it was brought over from The Netherlands but botanicals such as coriander, angelica root, elderflower and cinnamon are some hot favourites at Darnley's.
Our Darnley's Original is bursting with light, fruity elderflower, first foraged on the grounds of Wemyss Castle and the inspiration for our London Dry Gin. Darnley's Spiced, however, is more cinnamon based with hints of spice and crackle throughout.
Improving the recipes for our gins is always at the forefront of our minds. We want to make things easier for us but also for the environment around us and so will be striving to create that happy equilibrium wherever we can! Stay tuned for more exciting gin expressions: with love from seed to sip.