Near. Thurso. Caithness. Highland. KW14 7UZ, UK
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable bay view
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable bay view
About Us
The People. The Place. The Spirits.
We, at North Point Distillery, pride ourselves in creating small batches of premium, authentically Scottish spirits and making every effort to leave as little impact on our environment as possible as we do so.
We believe in the beautiful far north of Scotland; it’s a place like no other. With breathtaking views and spectacular community, it’s the only place in the world we’d ever want to call home.
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable bay view/ The Team
The spirits we create pay homage and thanks to this beautiful home of ours, with our Pilot Rum recalling tales of the past, our Spiced Rum evoking childhood memories, our Crosskirk Bay Gin living loudly in the now, and our Single Malt Whisky, Dalclagie, taking us forward with anticipation.
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable picturesque bay view
Making crosskirk bay gin
When starting out to create our gin, we wanted what was missing in so many other gins: bold flavour. The gin market is flooded with subtle and delicate gins, which are lovely, but they’re not the North Point way.
We began with our neutral spirit: it had to be cane spirit; this allowed us to have a higher ABV while still keeping a smooth finish. And when it came to the technique, our Distiller, Greg, insisted on in-pot maceration to infuse as much flavour in every drop of spirit as possible
– in fact, we begin the maceration hours before the distillation process, allowing our more robust botanicals – such as spices like cardamom, coriander, and pink peppercorn, and a financially irresponsible amount of Tuscan Juniper (13.5kg for every 500 bottle batch!) – to get to know each other overnight. The next morning, we add in rowan berries, Scots pine, sea buckthorn, lemon verbena, and grapefruit and lemon peel. Then the distillation begins.
After running our Still the way we run all our Stills: low and slow, our gin distillate leaves our condenser at 78% ABV. A true London Dry. When the time comes to proof it down, we add only water – this is known as Single Shot Gin and it’s something which we’re incredibly proud of. This process takes Crosskirk Bay Gin to its beautiful, bold-yet-smooth 45.1% ABV.
Because of our choice for bold flavour and in-pot maceration, Crosskirk Bay Gin, when cooled or chilled will become hazy – also known as louching. This is when the oil content within the gin becomes visible. We’re big fans of louche: it highlights the amount of flavour within the gin that we’ve worked so hard to infuse into it.
The Distillery
North Point Distillery was founded in 2020 during an unprecedented time of remote-working and lockdown protocols.
Starting with one still in a single room and a team of 4, we have since expanded into an internationally award winning distillery recognised for quality of product, sustainability practices, and our amazing staff members.
Now boasting a team of 14 with more to join, we are excited to share more of our journey with you.
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable picturesque bay view / The Staff
About Forss
Built as a US Navy Radio Listening Site for NATO during the Cold War, this site has a wealth of history and connection to the neighbouring towns and villages.
The Americans left the site in the ‘90s, at which point the site was mostly vacant except for the odd event hosted here by the local communities, making use of the many features of the site, such as a bowling alley, basketball court, olympic-sized pool, and the baseball diamond built by the Americans, which until recently, was maintained and used for locals to try their hand at the beloved American pastime. A cairn was built upon the Americans’ departure, which overlooks the Pentland Firth and is accessible to view, upon which is written, “Supporting the fleet was our mission, world peace was our goal.”
North Point Distillery moved onto the site in June of 2020, beginning with one building, housing our first still, and since then expanding into a second to accommodate our fourth.
Other histories of the site include the nearby 12th Century ruin, St Mary’s Chapel, as well as another cairn marking the site of what is believed to be the very first broch ever built.
With the smuggler stories of Crosskirk Bay, the Pilots of the Pentland Firth, and the impact of the Forss River mills, this place is tied securely to its people and honoured through our spirits.
Crosskirk Bay Gin
45.1% ABV
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable picturesque bay view
Named for the picturesque bay view of our Distillery, our award-winning Crosskirk Bay Gin is a delicious product of its native environment, with local botanicals chosen to amplify the leading presence of juniper within the spirit. With punchy citrus, rich juniper, a hint of sweetness, and an amazing mouthfeel, this Gin provides a journey for the tastebuds with a smooth, refreshing finish.
Crosskirk Bay Gin for the Adorable bay view
Visit Us
Our distillery is based on the Forss Business and Energy Park, just off the A836 and North Coast 500 route.
Turn at the brown sign for North Point Distillery, onto the Forss Business and Energy Park site; drive straight ahead through the old security gates and continue on, following signs for North Point Distillery.
Satnav postcode: KW14 7UZ
What3words: urgent.theory.easily
Phone number: 01847 808120
Email: hello@northpointdistillery.com
On-Season Hours (April to September)
Monday to Saturday: 10:00 – 17:30
Sunday: Closed
Off-Season Hours (September to April)
Monday – Friday: 10:00 – 17:30
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Holiday Hours
December 24, 2023 to January 14, 2024: Closed
Reopening January 15, 2024
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