EDINBURGH’S Smugglers Spirits brand took its name and inspiration from the bold 18th century spirit smugglers who once held sway in the city.
Resonating with those smugglers’ ‘determination to deliver great spirits to the masses’, the company, established in 2020, has since specialised in small-batch spirits, defined by bold flavours.
If you recognise the name, it’s perhaps because you’ve seen it at Festival Village, the popular rooftop bar outside Edinburgh’s Waverley Station, which Smugglers partnered with last summer to release three flavoured gins celebrating ‘natural colour and the Edinburgh festival atmosphere’. One of those releases, the Smugglers Strawberry Gin, went on to win Best Flavoured Gin in Scotland at the World Gin Awards 2023.
Citing brand values of ‘innovative flavours, high quality and enthusiasm’, the company has declared a commitment to community and sustainability. Its gins are distilled and bottled locally at The Secret Garden Distillery, where nature and biodiversity are the highest priority, with botanicals grown naturally on site in a self-sustaining permaculture, and hand-harvested to reduce carbon emissions.
Though Smugglers started with gin, it has also released a Scottish Vodka, made with Scottish wheat and pure Scottish water, and a Triple Cask Irish Whiskey, distilled in Dublin’s Golden Triangle. This product, Malones Irish Whiskey, is described as a ‘smooth, complex, versatile spirit’ matured in bourbon, oloroso sherry and red ale casks.
“Our spirits are designed to be versatile. They take cocktails to the next level, and are equally enjoyable neat or with a premium mixer,” said Smugglers. “We are driven by purpose to provide drinking experiences that are good for the planet, and enchanting for the senses.”
