Along Scotland’s west coast sits the southernmost Inner Hebrides island – the Isle of Islay! The Isle of Islay is a beautiful island with stunning vistas that look over the Atlantic Ocean, bountiful wildlife, and numerous cultural attractions that you could fill an entire vacation with. The Isle of Islay is known for its whisky and gin distilleries like Lagavulin Distillery. Islay gin distilleries, in particular, are made with local botanical ingredients and generations of experienced distilling.
Scottish gin offers a rare expression of Scotland’s heart and soul compared to their whiskies, which the country is more well-known for. But there’s something about sipping a gin from waters drawn from local rivers and lochs and with botanical herbs native to Scotland that invigorates the soul. Isle of Islay gin is a delicious spirit that will fascinate and entrance gin lovers.
Here are the top gin distilleries on the Isle of Islay you must check out during your next holiday.
Jukebox Gin Distillery
The first distillery you should pay a visit to if you’re a gin lover is the Jukebox Gin Distillery near Bridgend – all you need to do is head out of town along the A847, and you should see signs that point to this distillery on the right-hand side of the road.
Their lone Jukebox Gin is all you’ll ever need for your next celebratory occasion, providing a velvety finish and a citrus flavour. The secret to Jukebox Gin’s great taste is the seven botanicals they use from all over the world that are distilled locally, including juniper, pine, citrus, and more that we’ll leave a surprise.
This London Dry Gin is a fan favourite, and if you can’t find time to come and see the Jukebox Gin Distillery in person, look out for their iconic gin bottle in stores along the West Coast of Scotland.
Bruichladdich Distillery
The famed Bruichladdich Distillery has delicious drams of whisky and a thriving variety of gins under The Botanist collection. The Botanist Islay Dry Gin offers guests a terrific range of flavours in each bottle of their gin, all accompanied by a smooth finish.
Botanist gin boasts 22 botanicals, all passionately distilled at Bruichladdich distillery. Enjoy the flavours of nine berries, cinnamon, barks, seeds, and peels, dancing across your tongue with each sip of quality gin made by these progressive Hebridean distillers.
If you want to learn more about how spirits are made at the Bruichladdich Distillery, please book one of the distillery tours and discover the intricate and meticulous production process that goes into every bottle of this Islay gin.
Take advantage of this famous distillery in Bruichladdich, Isle of Islay.
Islay Gin
The Isle of Islay has a wealth of botanicals that create spirits wholly unique to the island, and the passionate distillers at the Islay Gin Distillery have committed themselves to creating the finest gins from these native botanicals.
Islay Gin Distillery has an excellent selection of gins, including Nerabus Heather, Nerabus Gorse, Nerabus Heather Navy, and Nerabus Gorse Navy. Each one has layered complexity that offers a prosperous and progressive exploration into the natural ingredients of the Isle of Islay, all with a smooth finish on your palate.
Best of all, the Islay Gin Distillery is situated in Bridgend, meaning you can hop from this distillery to Jukebox Gin in minutes and see which one is more your tipple!
Lussa Gin Distillery
While not on the Isle of Islay, Lussa Gin Distillery is remarkably close for those who are okay with a quick ferry trip to the Isle of Jura! This gin distillery proclaims itself as an expression of the wild and untamed Isle of Jura, which means that the 15 botanicals that make up Lussa gin are foraged and sampled and then taken to the distillery for an achingly slow distillation that is worth it.
If you want a better sense of how each bottle of gin is made, you’ll be happy to know you can book a distillery tour at Lussa Gin. You’ll be taken through the distillery by one of the trained guides and distillers, who are more than happy to let you know about every detail that goes into creating each sample of Lussa Gin.
After your tasting and distillery tour, we bet you’ll want to take home a bottle or two as a souvenir at the Lussa Gin shop.
Wild Thyme Spirits
Another close island pick, Wild Thyme Spirits, is the premier place to go gin tasting whole on the nearby Isle of Colonsay. Not only does Wild Thyme Spirits offer an excellent range of gin spirits, including Bramble Gin Liqueur and Colonsay Gin in many flavours, but also gin-tasting experiences!
Colonsay is a remote, lush isle with stunning seaside views – so Wild Thyme Spirits has made it into a gin retreat for guests who would love nothing more than to spend a weekend or two sipping gin and relaxing. Make the Isle of Colonsay your Hebridean home when you book one of the gin retreat experiences from Wild Thyme Spirits.
But for those who want to savour this tasty gin before moving on to their next slice of life, we recommend you pick up the 5 gin presentation to receive the whole experience.
Other Gin Distilleries in Scotland
- Aberdeen Gin Distilleries
- Edinburgh Gin Distilleries
- Glasgow Gin Distilleries
- Highland Gin Distilleries
- Isle of Orkney Gin Distilleries
- Perthshire Gin Distilleries
- Shetland Gin Distilleries