Ethanol suppliers will be shrugging off the aestheticism of dry January to celebrate Burns Night with a tipple.
Though whisky is commonly drunk to celebrate the great man himself, it is actually the case that Burns was just as partial to a gin as he was to a scotch.
The parallels between whisky and gin don’t stop their either. Many of the regional and artisan gins that are appearing on our shelves and in our pubs are originating from Scotland.
The combination of clear waters and diverse local herbs and botanicals means that the very essence of Scotland can be caught in a good gin just as much as it can in a single malt.
Regional gin sales rose 167 per cent in Waitrose last year, and one gin manufacturer in Scotland is looking to capitalise on this, on Burns Night.
Bruichladdich is launching The Botanist Gin on January 25 this year, just a few days before Burns Night, as an homage to Scotland and the man himself. It is made with 22 plants that are foraged from Islay by two local botanists.
Originally run by Jim McEwan, the distillery has recently been taken over by Adam Hannet, but this gin was created by Jim.
“Jim wanted to get Islay into a spirit, and that’s what we’ve got,’
“[Islay] is very small and friendly, and you can’t do anything quickly because you’re always stopping to chat to someone. So people here take their time over things. That’s how we’ve always made whisky, and it turns out, it’s a good way to make gin too.”
So this year try a Scottish gin with your Burns Night meal.
