Detour Pit Stop #112: Dunnet Bay Distillers, Scotland
Located near the UK mainland’s most northerly tip, this boutique distillery is a must-visit for anyone driving the North Coast 500.
Mention ‘distillery’ and ‘northern Scotland’ to most people and there’s a good chance they’ll imagine rich peaty earth and the tang of malt whisky. Yet Dunnet Bay Distillers is best known for its delicious Rock Rose gin and is just a short walk from Dunnet Beach – a crescent of virgin white sand carved from a gorgeously remote Scottish coastline.
Arrive at dusk after a day enjoying the North Coast 500 and you might spot a few lucky surfers catching the North Atlantic swell post-work (Detour certainly did), not to mention curlews, ringed plovers and eider ducks catching supper. Easter Head is another three miles up the Caithness coast, the unpopulated outpost being further north even than Land’s End.
The distillery is a relatively new and sympathetic addition to this stunning landscape, established in 2014 by Martin Murray, a chemical engineer, and his wife Claire Murray, a Dunnet local with a hospitality background. A change in legislation gave them the catalyst, allowing gin to be made in far smaller batches than whisky
Guided tours let visitors see the gin-making process first-hand during a relaxed 90-minute wander that includes a tasting session. Star turns go to Elizabeth and Margaret, the distillery’s two copper stills that combine 200 litres of Loch Calder water with 300 litres of alcohol and a botanical vapour basket in a day-long process that yields 1,000 bottles.
Ceramic bottles prevent sunlight negatively affecting the alcohol and feature a distinctive printed floral design by a local artist. Once the bottles have been hand-dipped in wax, they’re all set to be shipped worldwide. Speciality vodka and rum is also available.
Tours are run on select dates throughout the year so be sure to make Dunnet Bay an essential pit-stop on your North Coast 500 adventure.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: DISTILLERY
NAME: Dunnet Bay Distillers
ROUTE: Dunnet, Thurso KW14 8XD
COUNTRY: Scotland
Richard Porter – the Sniff in Smith and Sniff – describes two diametrically opposite drives that vie for the title of his Favourite Detour.