Dunnet Bay Distillers hopes to return wild juniper to the area

Dunnet Bay Distillers has partnered with local conservationists to replenish stocks of wild juniper at Dunnet Head in Scotland.

Dunnet Bay Distillers currently produces Rock Rose gin using juniper from Italy and Bulgaria

The project is a joint effort between Dunnet Bay Distillers, Caithness Biodiversity Group, and Highland Council, who have been carrying out research and recording the location and health of juniper plants on Dunnet Head.

The project has been ongoing for the last three years, with distillery staff learning how to correctly take cuttings from plants, which can then be grown into new crops.

Martin Murray, co-founder of Dunnet Bay Distillers, said: “The juniper project we’re working on now started three years ago. Since then, we’ve been out and surveyed the hill and started taking cuttings, which we send off to nurseries who can then support and grow them.”

Five years ago, the Caithness-based distillery, which currently imports juniper from Bulgaria and Italy, began contemplating the possibility of using local juniper in its products. Since then, it has looked at different ways to reintroduce juniper to the area surrounding the distillery.

As the northernmost distillery on the UK mainland, Dunnet Bay has faced unique challenges while trying to boost juniper crops in the area.

Murray said: “The conditions are completely different up here, things that may work in southern Scotland or Wales wouldn’t stand a chance here. It’s been a very interesting project to be a part of and we’ve done a lot of learning.

“Ecological projects like this can often struggle to receive the support they need, because there is no commercial attraction. In this case though, we are the commercial attraction as we are a gin product, made from juniper, that people can visualise.”

Replenishing the area’s wild juniper will be a slow process, but it is one the staff at the Dunnet Bay Distillers are excited about.

Murray said: “It would be great to one day release a bottle of Rock Rose that uses our own juniper, but I think that is still a few years off.”

Last year, the Dunnet Bay Distillers launched a winter edition of its Rock Rose gin flavoured with Christmas trees.