Isle of Cumbrae
Just off the West Coast of Scotland, the Isle of Cumbrae has long been a popular destination for tourists and day-trippers alike. Also known as Great Cumbrae or simply Cumbrae, it lies off the mainland at Ayrshire. When you disembark from the ferry you could be forgiven for having the feeling that you have arrived in ‘Brigadoon’: this little gem of an island has over many decades remained very much unchanged, as regular ‘doon the watter’ visitors will attest.
Millport the capital of Cumbrae.
Millport is the main town on the island, nestled beneath hilly braes in the south side of Isle of Cumbrae.
Looking south, only a stone’s throw away, you can see the rugged coastline of Little Cumbrae, also known by the locals as Wee Isle of Cumbrae.
The town owes its very existence to the bygone days of smugglers, lighthouse men, customs officers and fishermen and has many a tale to tell!
Crocodile Rock
For generations visitors have enjoyed having family photos snapped on Crocodile Rock’, which sits prominently on the sandy beach in the main town of Millport.
There are several more well-known rocks to discover including the Lion Rock and the Indian Rock.
The Isle of Cumbrae Gin Distillery.
11 Guildford St, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae KA28 0AE, Verenigd Koninkrijk
Isle of Cumbrae Distillers is owned by 5 full and part-time “Millportonians”, distinctively positioned as being one of the few all-female distilling teams in Scotland, and the only international women’s team, drawing representation from the UK, Canada and the USA.
OUR BOTANICALS Isle of Cumbrae Gin Distillery.
A superior gin begins with Juniper.
In fact, if you don’t have juniper…well, you have vodka! In order for a gin to qualify as such, it must have juniper and it must be at least 37.5% abv. A craft gin is normally a minimum of 40%. We often refer to Juniper as a berry but, in fact, juniper ‘berries’ are very small cones, each one retaining rich essential oils, which we carefully extract during the distillation process to create our gin.
NOSTALGIN
In choosing our main botanicals, we tried to capture the transformation people describe when making their short ferry journey from Largs to Cumbrae; an instant lifting of stress, to a feeling of calm serenity. Our first thought was lavender. Our intention in using lavender is to awaken your senses with something fresh and light, to make you take notice of the ocean and the mountains surrounding you.
We’ve paired the distinctive taste of lavender with ripe, fresh bramble, a berry that dominates our island coast in September and is an abundant local resource for our gin. Its complex flavours mirror the transformation, taking you from an awakening of the senses to a feeling of utter peace and calm. Finally, we chose a hint of sweet orange to complement the lavender and blackberry, to add a juicy, rich and flavourful blend to the main botanicals. We topped our recipe off with a dash of noble Scottish thistle and a smidgen of heather, considered to bring good luck and protection.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Floral, fruit, citrus
Palate: Lavender, bramble, orange, juniper Finish; Fresh with citrus tang
PERFECT POUR
Nostalgin is best served with a light tonic and a slice of orange
CROC ROCK Gin.
We all love the Croc and felt no botanical could better represent our affection than cacao, the main ingredient in dark chocolate…we are happy to report that none of the calories get transferred. Cacao’s antioxidant potential has a range of health benefits including reducing stress levels. A weekend in Millport and a bottle of our gin; it’s exactly what the doctor ordered!
When the smooth silky taste of chocolate meets the bright zesty notes of orange in a bottle of gin, no two flavours hit it off better, the bittersweet astringency of the cacao complementing the sweet robust orange in a perfect balance. And finally, we chose stem ginger as our final feature botanical, because crocodiles do have the potential to bite. Cooked slowly in syrup to give a warm richness, fresh citrusy aromas and a slight kick of heat, ginger creates an exotic, gentle warmth to the finish.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Sweet, warm, citrus
Palate: Chocolate, ginger, orange, juniper Finish: A slight kick of heat and an exotic, gentle warmth to the finish
PERFECT POUR
Croc Rock Gin is best served with a light tonic and a slice of orange or ginger
RESTORATION GIN
Restoration Gin’s is a limited release gin commemorating the restoration of the heart of our community – Millport’s historic town hall. We thought long and hard about which botanicals would best tell the story and the first one we chose was pineapple. The pineapple is the symbol of hospitality and is considered an expression of welcome and celebration, which we felt was a perfect fit for the Town Hall story.
We also loved the marriage of pineapple with another exotic fruit, mango. Symbol of love and happiness, the Mango encourages us to remember and honour happy moments in our childhood and in our life to rejuvenate the soul; it signals a period of returning to our past to reconnect with friends, family and places; it reminds us to focus on happy times.
The final botanical we have included is Elderberry. Known for its fragrant white flowers and glossy purple berries, the noble elder was believed to be magical and the ancient Celts believed that the tree protected us from negative influences and symbolized good health and prosperity. The elder tree is connected with the circle of life, death and rebirth. And we felt this botanical really captured the restoration of Millport Town’s Hall, which had a full and vibrant life from its birth in 1878, a death with its closure and now we celebrate a rebirth with its restoration
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Deep and fruity
Palate: Pineapple, mango, juniper and slight peppery tones Finish; Fresh with rich fruit flavours
PERFECT POUR
Restoration Gin is best served with a light tonic and a slice of pineapple or orange
MAURA Gin.
Maura is inspired by Scotland’s history, by local tales and legends, and by the coastal landscapes and glistening waters of the West Coast. Our botanicals feature delicate wildflowers and berries of Scotland’s West Coast. We also selected botanicals whose origins are rooted in female folklore.
Raspberry is the essence of the Feminine. Tempting with her sweet taste, she is also potent and powerful, with a provocative aftertaste that both surprises and delights.
We married the tantalizing raspberry with the sweet and tasty Scottish blaeberry, symbolizing an optimistic future, good health, inner peace, and satisfaction in life. We also added sweet red clover. The leaves of a four-leaf clover are said to represent faith, hope, love and luck; and finally we added elderflower, whose flowers symbolise physical and emotional healing and wards off evil spirits.
ASTING NOTES
Nose: light and fruity.
Palate: Raspberry, Blaeberry, juniper;
notes of orange and grapefruit
Finish: Fresh with a smooth fruit finish
PERFECT POUR
Maura is best served with a light tonic and a slice of orange or pink grapefruit
A love of the island…and gin, first brought us together, probably in one of Millport’s 5 pubs; certainly, the conversations blossomed during Thursday quiz nights at the Twa Dugs! Our conversations evolved from the general idea for an island distillery to raise funds to support the campaign to save Millport’s historic Town Hall building – a commitment that remains near and dear to us – to the realization that with our collective life experience, skills, enthusiasm, and “why the hell not” attitude, we could be the ones to start up a distillery for the island!
And so our story began in 2019. We launched our first gin in September 2020…in the middle of the pandemic! By the end of our first year, we had produced two international award-winning gins. Our signature gin, Nostalgin, won gold at the Gin Masters and bronze at IWSC as well as finalist standings at the Scottish Gin Awards and the Gin Guide; Croc Rock won silver at the Gin Masters and bronze at IWSC…a huge accomplishment for any distillery in its first year. To add to those accolades, our team was also a finalist for Best Newcomer for the Scottish Gin Awards!
OUR TARTANS
When we set out to design our label, we knew we wanted something that would scream ‘Scotland’ – what better way than with a tartan! All of our gins sport original tartans that have been created to showcase the gin botanicals. The Nostalgin and Maura tartans have both been officially registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans -probably the only gins in the world with their own official tartans.
