Toast Scotland’s canal bicentenaries with a G&T
LIMITED-edition gins have been created by Scottish distillers Purist Ginand the Great Glen Distillery to celebrate the bicentenaries of the Union and Caledonian Canals.
Richard Millar, chief operating officer at Scottish Canals, wanted to celebrate the canal’s anniversary in all sorts of different ways. As well as Flotilla 200 which took place in May with boats, music and other entertainment, Scottish Canals wanted to toast the canals with a tipple. Purist Gin and the Great Glen Distillery helped to develop gins to celebrate the canals’ 200th anniversaries.
Both distilleries are located on the canals– Purist Gin in Glasgow’s Whisky Bond building on the Forth & Clyde in Glasgow and the Great Glen Distillery on the western shore of Loch Ness, which forms part of the Caledonian Canal – and both have already won awards at the international World Gin Awards and other competitions.
Bruce Walker founded Purist Gin at the age of 21 during lockdown. Every batch of gin supports artists by featuring unique artwork on the labels. Artist Molly Sellars was selected to create the Union Canal gin label, which features the Leamington Lift Bridge, Avon Aqueduct and the Falkirk Wheel, celebrating both the history and the future of the canal. Molly’s a multimedia artist who’s painted since her youth. An architecture degree at the University of Edinburgh introduced her to technical and detailed digital drawing and you can see the resulting skill and inspiration on the gin label.
Great Glen Distillery, taking its name from the Highland fault line, is distilling the gin to celebrate the bicentenary of the Caledonian Canal. The distillery was established in 2020 by two friends, hotelier Daniel Campbell and chef Adam Dwyer, who built the distillery in Drumnadrochit, in what was Daniel’s late mother’s shop. The 200-litre still is named Jacqueline after Daniel’s mother.
If you want to toast the canals, visit Purist Gin and Great Glen Distillery or Scottish Canals’ visitor centres at the Falkirk Wheel and the Caledonian Canal Centre in Fort Augustus.