World-famous restaurant with rooms, The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye, has teamed up with Thurso’s North Point Distillery to launch its own gin brand exclusively for guests visiting the island.
Distilled and bottled in a small batch of just 240 bottles, The Three Chimneys gin is in the classic Old Tom style (40% vol), with a flavour profile drawing inspiration from the Skye landscape, combining notes of hand-picked wild gorse, Douglas fir and kelp with warming citrus notes.
Founded in 2020, North Point Distillery specialises in creating small batches of premium, authentically Scottish spirits, whilst focussing on sustainability and making every effort to leave as little impact on the environment as possible.
The distillery is housed in a former US Navy building from the Cold War and its whisky cellar is an old bomb shelter.
To make The Three Chimneys Gin, a custom-built 200L electrically fired still, called ‘Audrey’, was created specially by North Point Distillery.
Founder and co-CEO of North Point, Canadian-born Alex MacDonald, graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a BSc in Business and ‘a passion for spirits’.
He said: “Working alongside such a notable brand as The Three Chimneys has been a hallmark experience for our team. Our two teams collaborated on this project from start to finish, from brand creation to liquid curation, with sustainability and transparency throughout.
“We look forward to continuing to work with The Three Chimneys team for many years to come.”
The new gin is packaged in a 70cl bevelled glass bottle created by international glass bottle supplier and family-run business, Croxsons. Its label features an original watercolour painting by Skye-based artist Peter McDermott titled ‘Sunshine and showers – Loch Dunvegan’ – a landscape which can be seen from The Three Chimneys itself.
General manager at The Three Chimneys, Kieran Walker, commented: “We’re really excited to be raising a glass to the launch of The Three Chimneys’ new gin, thanks to our talented friends at North Point Distillery in Caithness, as well as our glass bottle supplier, Croxsons.
“Together, we share a focus on authenticity and sustainability in everything that we do.”
Bottles of The Three Chimneys Gin are expected to be made available for guests to purchase and take home as a souvenir from the original Skye croft house at Colbost.
It will also be served at The Three Chimneys at Talisker, which is located in a new standalone waterfront venue at Skye’s oldest distillery on the shores of Loch Harport.
To celebrate the launch of the new spirit, The Three Chimneys team has created its own gin-based cocktail made with 100% British ingredients – The Three Chimneys’ Marmalade Martini.
The Three Chimneys Marmalade Martini
Ingredients
- 50ml – Three Chimneys Gin
- 15ml – Bramley & Gage Dry Vermouth
- 10ml – Atlantic Distillery Triple Sec
- 2 dashes – Atlantic Distillery Orange Bitters
- 1 Barspoon – Three Chimneys Marmalade
Method
- Shake all ingredients together in a cocktail shaker
- Fine strain into nick and nora glass
- Garnish with orange zest.
