Flavour

Discover Scottish Gin by flavour including citrus, floral, fruity, spiced and more. Most gins will offer multiple aromas and flavours that will take your nose and palate on a journey, from hints of piney juniper to refreshing citrus fruits and warm aromatic spices; explore the range of diverse and delicious flavours carefully crafted to produce Scottish Gins filled with flavour and character.

Fresh and zingy

Fresh and zingy flavours tend to be refreshing, natural and almost palate cleansing. Coastal aromas and flavours are often derived from botanicals like sugar kelp seaweed and samphire grass, which thrive in coastal environments. As with many other botanicals, coastal botanicals can have hidden depths and tastes that are only revealed as a result of the distillation process like citrus, umami or salty notes. Citrus aromas and flavours can come from the use of classic citrus fruit peels like lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit but also from spices and herbs, like coriander and lemon balm. Menthol aromas and flavours tend to be fresh and crisp and come from a combination of flavours or botanicals including mint, eucalyptus and caraway. Herbaceous aromas and flavours can be extracted from botanicals like meadowsweet, olive leaf, basil, rosemary, sage and can provide green, savoury notes on the nose and palate.

Coastal

Citrus

Menthol

Herbaceous

Piney and earthy

Piney, earthy flavours are commonplace in most gins, providing resinous aromas and a taste of the outdoors. Cereal flavours and aromas can be derived from botanicals like oats or similar crops. Some producers who make their own base alcohol ultimately create spirits with distinct cereal notes. Cask ageing can also draw out cereal notes. Earthy flavours and aromas in gin often come from regularly featured seeds and roots like coriander, cardamom, orris and angelica, providing dry earthy notes. Nutty flavours and aromas can add an extra layer to both the palate and mouthfeel and can come from ingredients like almonds, nutmeg and coconut. Gin’s most predominant botanical, juniper, is described as piney and evergreen, which is why this is a common flavour profile in gins. These piney notes can also be enhanced with the addition of other pines, firs and spruces.

Cereal

Earthy

Nutty

Piney

Smoked and spicy

Smoked and spicy flavours tend to be fragrant and aromatic, with notable aromas and distinctly bold flavours. Smoky aromas and flavours often come from using wood chips that are fired, with the smoke drawn through the spirit during production. Some gins are infused directly with burnt wood chips before filtering and bottling and some smoky flavours are derived directly from smoky botanicals, like sumac or black cardamom. Spicy aromas and flavours are derived from spiced botanicals included in the production process. Spicy botanicals are vast and varied, from coriander to cloves and chilli to cinnamon and many more.

Smoked

Spiced

Sweet and fruity

Sweet and fruity flavours are typically rich, bright and fragrant. Perfumed aromas and tastes can be extracted from petals and plants like rose, lavender and heather. Fruity aromas and flavours can be found in so many fruits and plants, ranging from bitter berries to tropical mango and tangy rosehip. Often the sweetness of a gin is created with the addition of sugar, honey, syrup or essence but the taste can come through a variety of natural ingredients, such as orange, apple, elderflower or even sap.