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It seemed pretty pointless to design the space around that glorious landscape if the views weren’t going to be shared with anyone but the distilling team, so Crafty Distillery was always designed to be a destination - something people drove out of their way to see. As such, the tasting room is expansive and inclusive – all chrome and copper on one side, trees and mountains on the other. Putting the graft in craft,” is the Crafty Distillery slogan. And as one of only seven Scottish gin distillers (at the time of writing) to make their own base spirit, there’s definitely something in that. According to The Gin Cooperative, there are over 140 Scottish gin brands, meaning Craft Distillery is one of only 5% of Scottish brands who do this. The others buy this in and focus on the rectification process. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this and hundreds of amazing gins are made in this way. Crafty recommends a slice of fresh mango as a garnish to complement the tropical notes already present, but I found it also works well with orange and grapefruit.
This behind-the-scenes look at its gin making exemplifies what Crafty Distillery has been about since opening in 2017: namely, craft. It is one of only around a dozen gin distilleries in Scotland and England to make its own base spirit, which is distilled from locally grown wheat. As well as gin, this spirit is used to make Crafty’s 24 Seven Vodka and the soon-to-be-released Billy & Co whisky (named after Taylor’s late father, William, who built the distillery). Inside the Crafty Distillery. Credit: Crafty Distillery From the off, it was always going to be a gin destination and visitor attraction to help showcase their home in southwest Scotland. Visitors can tour the distillery, experience a variety of events, or even go on a foraging tour of the hills and coast of the area. To create Hills & Harbour Gin, it took over 14 months and 90 different recipes to get close to their final product. In 2015 the planning permission for a piece of land in his hometown of Newton Stewart was made. This was finally approved in 2016, before the first bottle was distilled in June 2017.In 2008, everything changed in the gin category. Up until then a long-standing British excise law meant distillers couldn’t gain a licence for a still under 1,800 litres. But thanks to a petition by Sipsmith, the law which had stood since 1823 was amended and opened the floodgates to the category as we now know it, and the birth of craft gin. The gin tends not to be distilled straight away and Crafty always has some GNS ready for when gin distillation is required. Developing Hills & Harbour GIn
The lovely folk at Crafty Distillery are definitely not suggesting anybody should drink hard liquor 24/7. However, they have created a vodka that’s great at any time of the day… As a London Dry Gin, all the botanicals are added during the distillation process with “no essences, sweeteners or nonsense added post-production.” Craig Rankin explains. To build a grain-to-glass distillery takes time and planning, and that was certainly the case for Crafty. The idea was first planted in 2013 when Graham’s brother told him of a whisky distillery that was up for sale. This got him thinking about creating his own distillery. We see a huge future here, we want to be part of it and we urge you to also jump on this bandwagon and give them a helping hand where you can. There’s something more than just a little special about it all, that’s for certain and we hope they can continue to grow and evolve to be an established player in the UK industry.Is it size? Is it the process? Is it being done by hand (as far as gin can be)? I don’t think anyone really knows anymore. Gin Foundry discusses what craft is (and what it’s not) more succinctly than I ever could and I’m here to talk about Hills & Harbour, so that debate is for another time. To taste, this is one of the smoothest gins we’ve had. We all agreed that there was very little lingering aftertaste on the palate and definitely got what we thought was the pine needles (if you’ve ever walked in a forest in the SW of Scotland you’ll be familiar with the lovely scent). We thought they worked really well in the gin, and gave it a distinctive feel. It’s really pleasing that team and Hills & Harbour make their own base spirit too. This’ll likely be a factor in putting Hills & Harbour gin at a more premium price point, but we think it shows the care and skill that’s gone into making this quality gin. In Australia, Harbour and Hills Financial Services Pty Limited is registered with Australian Securities and Investments Commission. There’s a good reason why Crafty Distillery is awarded 5 stars on Trip Advisor and Visit Scotland. Come and see for yourself and book a one-of-a-kind tour.
So we can craft something that really lives up to the craft promise,” Graham told me. “Whatever Crafty was going to be, it was going to be created using our own spirit and to tap into the botanicals of our region.” That brings us to the end of the Gin Escape. I’m still at my desk in Norfolk and haven’t touched a drop of gin, but Taylor’s engaging and immersive talk through the experience had me feeling a brisk Scottish breeze through my hair, salty sea air in my nostrils, and the tingle of a cold, piney gin and tonic on my lips. For Taylor, building a connection to the landscape is almost as important a part of the tour as the gin itself. “We grew up in this region and we are really proud of it. We know it is a hidden gem,” he says. “We are too connected to our devices and to the ‘instant’ these days. It is a reality of how we all work … Just being outside and having a bit of fun and connecting with where things come from – that was resonating before, but even more so now.” The air is crisp and green. An autumnal carpet crunches under my boots as I trek up the hill, following my guide, Crafty Distillery founder Graham Taylor, through the Galloway Forest. We’re making for a patch of noble firs from which the distillery harvests fresh cones for its award-winning Hills & Harbour Gin. Taylor explains, “It’s not a common tree in the forest, but it is one that is easy to spot, because [the cones] grow upwards rather than downwards.”A mixture of steep/boil and vapour infusion techniques are used and which botanicals go where (pot or basket) is one of the few closely guarded secrets in the entire process.
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