1451 Foraged Scottish Gin

The year 1451, when the University of Glasgow was founded, gives this gin its name; the university is the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world. It was made for the university by Helen Stewart, an English Literature and Linguistics graduate who began foragingForagingPlants gathered by hand in the wild (woods, heath, coastline) rather than grown or bought in.Glossary and distilling while still a student there. She produces it at Badvo, the distillery she set up in converted farm buildings near Pitlochry, in Highland Perthshire, on a hill farm that has been in her family since 1599, and she runs it with help from her mother. The gin was launched for the university's summer graduations in 2019 and reaches 40% ABV in the bottle.

Dry · Fruity · Herbal

Foraged is meant literally. The botanicals are gathered by hand on the family farm, with Scottish juniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary and apple leading the recipe. Sweet apple dominates the palate over a dry juniper base, and the finish turns fresh with a note of wild mint. A Great Taste panel later awarded it two stars, a solid result for a gin made in very small quantities.

Badvo itself took two years of design work, grant applications and building conversion before it opened in 2018, and its own London DryLondon DryA style, not a place of origin: every flavour comes from distilling natural botanicals. After distillation only water and a trace of sugar may be added, with no flavouring or colouring.GlossarySee London Dry gins carries the name of the farm. For the university, the gin became a signature bottle sold through its shops, a way of linking a graduate's business to the institution where it began. The label's 1451 makes that link clear on every bottle.

For a long drink, pour 5 cl over ice and add 12 cl of Indian tonicIndian tonicThe classic tonic: sparkling water, bitter quinine and sugar. The name recalls colonial India, where quinine warded off malaria.Glossary. A thin slice of apple picks up the main fruit, and a small sprig of mint echoes the finish. The tonic stretches the drink while leaving the juniper and the orchard fruit in front.