National Trust for Scotland creates its first gin

The National Trust for Scotland has teamed up with Glenshee Craft Distillers to release its first gin, made with botanicals from the Cairngorms National Park.

Pinewood Gin is made with botanicals such as pine needles and wood sorrel

The new Pinewood Gin has been launched to mark 25 years of the trust’s work protecting and restoring the ancient pine forests in Cairngorms National Park in northeast Scotland.

It is made with botanicals hand foraged from the pinewoods of Mar Lodge Estate in Cairngorms National Park, including juniper, pine needles, birch leaves, bog myrtle, wood sorrel and blaeberries.

The 40% ABV gin was distilled by Glenshee Craft Distillers, based local to the estate near Braemar.

“Simon Fairclough, the managing director of Glenshee Craft Distillers, is incredibly supportive of the work at Mar Lodge to protect our unique pinewood and has helped us through the whole development of the gin,” said Mar Lodge Estate ecologist Shaila Rao, who came up with the idea of creating the gin.

“Creating this gin seemed like a fitting way to mark the 25th anniversary of the trust taking on the care and protection of Mar Lodge. In the past few decades, we’ve seen the landscape here recover from centuries of decline from timber exploitation, climate change and high grazing levels preventing regeneration and the Mar Lodge Estate pinewoods are being reborn.”

Pinewood Gin is available to buy online at National Trust for Scotland, priced at £32 (US$38.70) per 500ml.