Sponsored Content – Brand Spotlight: MacMillan Spirits
The Outer Hebrides isn’t just the home of Scottish drinks company MacMillan Spirits – it’s the inspiration behind everything the company does.
Founded by Angus MacMillan, whose family hail from Benbecula, the company blends and bottles a range of high quality craft spirits that includes Machair gin, Caribbean rum Molucca and Wheelhouse Scotch whisky. Each is intrinsically linked to the company’s home region.
In the case of Machair, the gin takes its name from the fertile, low-lying grasslands found across the Outer Hebrides, with the Wild Angelica found in these environs even forming a core part of the recipe.
Molucca, meanwhile, might be the most evocative name in the range, taking its name from the Molucca bean – or ‘Sea Heart’ – which grows in the Caribbean and is then carried by the gulf stream to the beaches of the Outer Hebrides.
Wheelhouse – a series of independent bottlings from noted Scotch whisky distilleries – takes its name from the Iron Age structures found in the Outer Hebrides.
The current bottling in the range, a nine year-old port-matured single malt from Teaninch Distillery, has been bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration or artificial colouring.
Wheelhouse is just the beginning of the Scotch whisky journey for the team on Benbecula.
In addition to MacMillan Spirits, Angus has also overseen the construction of the multi-million pound Benbecula Distillery, which began production last year under the watchful eye of renowned master distiller Brendan McCarron.
“The whisky we are trying to make at Benbecula will be a subtle combination of three factors,” explained Hattie De Fries, marketing and brand development manager for MacMillan Spirits and Benbecula Distillery. “It’s a little bit smokey – so we’re thinking light to medium-peated – a little bit salty, so it has that maritime character, and a little bit floral, because we use heather-peated fires. That’s the whisky we’re trying to achieve.”
With so much going on, there’s never been a better time for a taste of Benbecula. And with the appointment of distributor Kilninian, the range is now available across Scotland. For more information see kilniniandrinksco.com.
