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Certified Scottish Gin
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Shetland Reel Up Helly Aa Gin 2026 is a cask aged Scottish Gin and a limited edition release. Part of the annual Up Helly Aa series of Scottish Gins that celebrates Shetland’s famous Viking fire festival, this 2026 edition marks the 10th anniversary of the Up Helly Aa Gin series. Shetland Reel Original Gin, the signature London Dry Scottish Gin, has been rested and aged in an ex-whisky cask, allowing the gin to develop additional layers of sweetness, spice and gentle oak character.
Tasting Notes
Flavours
Nose
Soft vanilla and honeyed sweetness lead, layered with toasted oak and subtle malt from the whisky cask. Gentle juniper sits alongside hints of citrus peel and warming spice, while a faint touch of smoke and coastal air reflects both the cask’s previous life and Shetland’s maritime environment.
Taste
Classic juniper before developing sweet malt, vanilla and light caramel from the cask maturation. Citrus from orange and lemon peel lifts the mid-palate, while coriander and warming spice add structure alongside subtle notes of toasted oak and baking spice.
Finish
Warming and gently lingering, with soft oak tannins, sweet spice and fading citrus. Apple mint adds a cooling freshness, leaving balanced notes of juniper, malt sweetness and light smoky cask character.
How to enjoy this gin
A slice of lemon, tonic and ice.
About Shetland Reel
At the northernmost edge of the United Kingdom lies the Isle of Unst in Shetland, where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Drawn by the island’s rugged beauty and strong sense of place, Frank and Debbie Strang moved to Unst in 2006 and took over the Saxa Vord Holiday Resort on the site of a former RAF radar station. Seeking to support the local community and create new employment opportunities, they began developing new ventures on the estate. With the guidance of whisky industry veteran Stuart Nickerson, the couple established Saxa Vord Distillery in 2014, Shetland’s first legal distillery, releasing Shetland Reel Original Gin later that year and launching the islands’ modern distilling story.
Production
Gin production at Saxa Vord Distillery centres around ‘Elsi’, a 100-litre engineered copper still built by the renowned still maker John Dore & Co. Small-batch distillation allows the team to carefully craft the Shetland Reel range, balancing classic gin botanicals with flavours inspired by the islands. Each batch is produced on site before being bottled and labelled on Unst. Visitors to the distillery can take part in guided tours and tastings, where they learn about the distillation process, the story behind the Shetland Reel gins, and the role the distillery now plays within the wider Saxa Vord estate, one of Shetland’s most distinctive visitor destinations.
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