the gin lab
This is our laboratory, where our distillers schedule our working week, where we engage in sensory analysis of our spirits, and also where we physically produce our gin.Â
OUR GIN RANGE IS CALLED HEIGHT OF ARROWS.
INSPIRED BY THE SCOTTISH GAELIC NAME (ARD-NA-SAID) FOR EDINBURGH’S EXTINCT VOLCANO (ARTHUR’S SEAT). THE VOLCANO WAS KNOWN AND USED AS A TRAINING GROUND BY MEDIAEVAL ARCHERS, AND IT WAS SAID THAT THE HEIGHT OF THE VOLCANO WAS THE HIGHEST ANYONE COULD FIRE THEIR ARROW.
IN THE WORLD OF GIN, NATURAL INGREDIENTS COMMONLY KNOWN AS BOTANICALS ARE WHAT GIVE GIN ITS FLAVOUR AND AROMA. THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE BOTANICALS IS THE JUNIPER BERRY (A SMALL CONIFER, WITH A PRIMARY SCENT OF PINE).
Here at Holyrood, we make gin with the mindset of a whisky distiller.
With single malt, we are limited to 3 ingredients:
Barley, Yeast and Water.
So, we set ourselves the same challenge for our gins, just 3 ingredients:Â
Juniper Berries
We want to focus completely on this primary flavour and so the only two other ingredients are what we refer to as modifiers or enhancers.
beeswax
(from a local Edinburgh honey company), textural enhancer, creating a rich oily mouthfeel.
sea salt
(sourced from the Isle of Skye on the Scottish west coast), flavour enhancer, ensuring a deep and balanced character
We have a collection of four gins and with each one, the only difference is how we manipulate our juniper before the distillation process.
Height of Arrows 43% ABV
Original Recipe.Â
Fresh, piney, smooth.
Height of Arrows Bright 48% ABV
Concentrated recipe.Â
Full-frontal, intense, silky.
Height of Arrows Funk 43% ABV
Fermented juniper gin, made by wild-fermenting our juniper in lemon juice, water and salt, for a month.Â
Citrusy, white pepper spice.
Height of Arrows Heavy 46% ABV
Roasted juniper gin.
Punchy, sweet spice, deep.
What goes into our gins
Once maceration is complete, we begin to distill.
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By heating our Pot still to the point our alcohol boils (78.3° Celsius) and becomes a vapour, travels through the pipes, into the condenser and is then condensed back into a liquid.
