Slàinte Mhath
Highland Boundary Wild Scottish Spirits have created a delicious new range of drinks that reconnect with nature
Exploring new Highland Boundary Wild Scottish Spirits, inspired by nature
THE gnawing onset of an early blister on the West Highland Way in 2007 was suddenly eclipsed by an exhilarating epiphany. As we made our way to the first overnight stop in Balmaha, I stood, with my three brothers, atop Conic Hill overlooking Loch Lomond.
A sharp ridge stretched ahead, dipped sharply downhill, under the loch and burst up, like the spine of a tectonic leviathan, through the islands of Inchmurrin, Inchailloch and onto the mainland beyond.
I had one – blistered – foot in the gentle lowlands and the other in the tumultuous Scottish highlands.
The Highland Boundary Fault, which stretches from Stonehaven in the east, through Loch Lomond and westwards to Arran, is clearly visible on any map or Google Earth. But, to see and feel this tectonic meeting point is to realise the seismic beauty of our nation.
A similar fascination has inspired a wild spirit every bit as enigmatic as its eponym. “There is no word in English or Scots for our produce,” says Marian Bruce, co-owner of Highland Boundary Wild Scottish Spirits.
“Our spirits are not vodka, gin or whisky. We call them Wild Scottish Spirits because it describes them perfectly, and our location is right on the Boundary Fault.”
Marian produces the spirit with partner Simon Montador from Kirklandbank Farm, above the lovely market town of Alyth in Perthshire – on the fault line.
“We’re a metaphor for breaking boundaries, working across divides and doing things differently.”
Marian and Simon harvest wild plants by hand from their farm or on neighbouring woodland.
They currently make two spirits. The first release, Birch and Elderflower – launched October 2018 – is fresh, zippy and bodes well for the future, winning a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Their second spirit, Larch and Honeysuckle, is completely different in flavour. It is made with the spring foliage from the European Larch with a light balancing touch from Honeysuckle flowers. Birch and Elderflower as well as Birch and Sloe liqueurs finish this lip-smacking range, produced in two 100-litre copper alembic pot stills, short and fat to capture flavour.
Made from 100% indigenous materials, it oozes Scottishness. But the production has been refined by experience in the furthest corners of the planet.
“Simon and I met as students studying biology at Edinburgh University in the 1980s. We both hold a first
class degree, BSC. Biological Sciences with Honours in Genetics,” Marian says.
“After university, Simon’s career took him into business and I stayed in science and had a 22-year research career in Tropical Medicine, completing my PHD at Oxford University.
“We worked abroad in Papua New Guinea, Zambia, Malawi and Nigeria before returning home and starting our family in 2000, living in Stirling.”
The hard-working couple took inspiration from time spent with friends living in Scandinavia and from trips to the Alps where distillers use local plants to produce spirits.
The resulting produce here is part of a new bracket in the busy UK drinks market. But this nascent venture won’t see commerce put ahead of nature.
“We make sure that all our botanicals are sustainably hand-picked under very strict picking protocols which do not harm the trees,” Marian says.
“One of the visions we have for our business is to connect people back to Scotland’s wild forests and the many benefits they bring.
“When we moved to Kirklandbank in 2008 there was little biodiversity. We’ve broadened our understanding of the incredible native plants in parallel to increasing biodiversity and re-wilding our farm.”
Having long-since realised the impact of nature on our senses, Highland Boundary Wild Scottish Spirits has a lot to live up to from its namesake.
But it doesn’t disappoint.
“Our whisky” spirits are not vodka, gin or