Aviemore, in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, is home to Kinrara Distillery and its Highland Dry Gin, bottled at 41.5% ABV. The Cairngorms are Britain's largest national park, a landscape of pine forest, moorland and mountains, and the gin's sky-blue bottle, with its mountain silhouette, reflects that setting. Aviemore, the main town of the area, is popular with skiers and hillwalkers, and juniper still grows wild on the surrounding slopes.

Citrus · Dry · Spicy · Floral

The full botanical recipe is kept private, but Kinrara's tasting notes give a clear picture. The nose opens with bright juniper and freshly expressed orange peel, followed by rosehip and pine.

The palate is clean, smooth and balanced, with robust juniper and citrus zest, then turns fruity and floral as the rosehip comes through, with a discreet cardamom spice that rounds out the citrus. Pine and rosehip are both found in the forests and hedgerows around the town.

The finish is long: woodier juniper notes gradually give way to lemon and orange. That balance between a dry juniper base and softer fruit and floral notes makes the gin easy to drink neat, and the pine note links it to the forests around Aviemore, where Scots pine, the tree of the old Caledonian forest, still covers large areas. A splash of water brings out the rosehip and gently softens the strength.

Kinrara suggests enjoying it neat, with a subtle mixer or in a dry cocktail. For a gin and tonic, use a light Indian tonic and add a thin twist of orange, which echoes the peel on the nose, and keep the mixer light so the rosehip and pine stay noticeable. In a dry Martini, a twist of lemon brings out the citrus finish, and its clean profile also makes a crisp Tom Collins.