Stirlingshire tea takes centre stage in new gin
A STIRLINGSHIRE farmer is behind the launch of a new premium gin infused with tea leaves grown and harvested on his farm.
Established by childhood friends and gin lovers Matt Lamb and Ian Mackay, GINTÌ is a London Dry style gin infused with single estate Scottish tea which is all grown from seed on Matt’s family farm, Fordhead. The gin, which is produced by Kinrara Distillery near Aviemore, features juniper, lemon peel, cubeb, angelica root and liquorice in its botanicals, with the spirit’s “unique flavour” created by steeping the tea overnight in the gin still.
Matt said the 41.3% ABV spirit has a clean and crisp flavour, a smooth finish and is best served over ice with tonic and lemon rind.
“Tì derives from the Gaelic word for tea, and we wanted to create a connection between our Scottish provenance and our main botanical,” he said.
“The tea is handpicked, hand-rolled and processed on our farm and then cold steeped overnight in the still to let the subtle flavour of tea develop the gin’s unique flavour profile. There’s nothing like it on the premium gin market right now.”
