Husband and wife team Michael and Katie Morrison have just released their first gin from the remote island of Barra.
Though the drinks entrepreneurs say the prohibitive start-up costs of establishing a full spec distillery on Barra are such that they have initially linked up with a London distillery to produce the first batches of Barra Atlantic Gin, plans are well underway for moving full production to the island as they aim to establish the island's first
distillery, which they hope to have up and running
as soon as possible.
The ambitious couple say they are confident of "fulfilling
their desire to give something back to the island and, in turn, for the
community to feel proud of the Isle of Barra Distillers".
Barra Atlantic Gin is described as having "a perfect balance of floral and herbal on the nose" with "juniper, citrus and dulcet carrageen rolling across the tongue like mighty Atlantic surf breaking on Barra shores".
Picture: Barra Gin
Priced at £37, it's the first release from the pair - who launched their gin company on the island in 2016 - and is now available to buy from their website.
The key botanical in the new gin's recipe is Carrageen, a type of seaweed sourced naturally - and hand-picked - from the shallow waters surrounding the island.
A natural source of vitamins A, E, F and K, calcium, potassium and sulphur, the species of red algae has been described as an up-and-coming superfood.
Michael explained that Atlantic Gin was inspired by the expansive ocean surrounding the Isle of Barra, he said: “Above everything else that we can achieve from this journey, it is the thought of both giving something back to this beautiful island and also putting the Isle of Barra on the ‘gin map’ that drives us forward.
"We feel we owe it to the island and its people - we have the opportunity to do something great and something great is what we are going to do."
