The Shore in Leith, Edinburgh
1. Scotland's love affair with gin started in Leith, Edinburgh.
It all began way back in the 1700s when the first bottles of fiery Dutch Jenever were traded into the Port of Leith.
Leith's dockside location allowed for easy access to raw materials and exotic spices, as the Scots traded with the Dutch in exchange for wool and other supplies.
Ein Cocktail mit Pickering's Gin
© @pickeringsgin
3. Gin is made from juniper berries, but juniper is not a berry!
It's actually a seed.
Nearly all of the juniper used in gin-making is picked straight from the wild. During the plague years in the 14th century, doctors wore masks stuffed with juniper and people even began eating and drinking juniper, with the hopes it would fend off infection and disease.
Dunnet Bay Distillery Tasting Room
6. Eden Mill's Golf Gin is influenced by materials used to make wooden golf clubs.
The Eden Mill Distillery has been located on the same site for over 200 years.
The distillery, which also produces whisky and beer, has been recently inspired by its golf-loving home of St Andrews and makes a gin flavoured by hickory wood.
Blick auf Loch Ness von Urquhart Castle
9. The House of Elrick makes its gin using fresh water from Loch Ness.
Makers of a beautifully crafted gin, the House of Elrick was built at the height of the Scottish Enlightenment in 1720.
It was once visited by Bonnie Prince Charlie, who gifted the Jacobite rose to the estate which now flourishes in the stunning walled garden.
