Dunnet Bay Distillers Wins Top Regional Food And Drink Award
10th October 2018
Dunnet Bay Distillers from Caithness are celebrating after being named winner of the Best Distilled Drink category at the Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards.
The Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards celebrate passion, quality and innovation across the region. They highlight the finest businesses that are helping put the Highlands and Islands on the food and drink map.
Dunnet Bay Distillers won the award for their limited edition "The Lassies Toast" gin, which they released to celebrate Burns Night on 25th January 2018. The gin was inspired by the Moorland tea that Robert Burns is reputed to have enjoyed and was a unique recipe designed in-house and featuring bilberry leaves, strawberry leaves, heather tops, speedwell and wild thyme, all ingredients found in the Moorland tea recipe.
A total of fourteen businesses from the Highlands and Islands were named victorious at the awards. The awards dinner and ceremony took place at the four-star Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness and was hosted by STV presenter, Jennifer Reoch.
Martin Murray, Co-Founder of Dunnet Bay Distillers, winner of said: "We are proud to be recognised once more by the Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards. Our Lassies Toast gin was a sell-out success this year, with a record 2000 clicks per minute to buy it at launch, so it will be back by popular demand next year!"
The Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards are delivered with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Elaine Jamieson, Head of Food and Drink at HIE said:
"Entries to the awards were significantly higher in 2018 than in previous years, and categories were very competitive. It is very encouraging to ksee the diversity and quality of products coming from the Highlands and Islands. It is the overwhelming passion that the people from our region have for producing and providing great food and drink that is putting the Highlands and Islands at the top of the country's food and drink industry."
She went on to say:“The winners should be very proud to have outshined their competition and I hope these well-deserved and independently judged awards will be a distinguishing asset to their businesses.”
The Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards launched in 2005 and have since rewarded and supported some of the region's most celebrated food and drink businesses. The Highlands and Islands make up a large portion of Scotland's overall food and drink exports which reached the all-time high of £1billion earlier this year.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Highlands and Islands. With a total of 15 award categories recognising a range of diverse businesses from best products to food and drink experiences and outstanding retailers, the winners represent the cream of the crop.
Dunnet Bay Distillers to expand and create jobs with HIE support. Dunnet Bay Distillers Ltd is owned by local husband and wife team, Claire and Martin Murray and has secured up to £180,200 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the project.
Dunnet Bay Distillers has submitted a planning application to Highland Council asking permission to refurbish a 200 year-old mill and surrounding land at Castletown, near its headquarters. The Caithness company produce the Rock Rose Gin and Holy Grass Vodka brands and took over the mill last year.
SCDI Highlands & Islands Chair's Award for Outstanding Business Achievement was won for 2021 by Dunnet Bay Distillers. Going from strength to strength Dunnet Bay Distillers have grown to add another still, shop and to cater for the growing number of tourists visiting via the North Coast 500 route.
The national awards programme which celebrates excellence in Scottish gin has revealed the names of the best gins made in Scotland this year, as part of its 3rd annual competition. The Scottish Gin Awards revealed the winners last night following a rigorous judging process involving 30 leading experts from across the UK, the assessment of 104 written entries and the blind tasting of 173 gins, all distilled in Scotland.
Local food and drink businesses are celebrating after being named finalists in the Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards (HIFAD) 2019. HIFAD celebrate passion, quality and innovation throughout the region.
The UK's most northerly mainland distillery, Dunnet Bay Distillers, is scouring the UK for exceptional artwork to feature in its debut exhibition, ‘Inspired by Gin'. The distillery will play host to the exhibition from December 2019 - March 2020 at its new Visitor Centre, which is a VisitScotland 5 Star Visitor Attraction and a centre for food and drink, culture and heritage tourism.
This May, Dunnet Bay Distillers, will launch a new permanent addition to its portfolio - Holy Grass Vodka - Cold Brew Coffee Edition. This delicious coffee flavoured vodka has been created in partnership with Glasgow based, the Ovenbird Coffee Roasters.
Uniquely Refreshing Pink Grapefruit Gin. This Month, Scotland's most northerly mainland distillery, Dunnet Bay, is announcing the launch of a new gin, set to become a permanent part of its portfolio.
KICKING OF WITH THE CLOOTIE DUMPLING GIN. The UK's most northerly mainland distillery, Dunnet Bay Distillers, has announced the launch of a new Creative Collection Series.
