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2 Far from the cool bars and urban nightspots where gin is being discovered anew by the hipster generation, travels to the salty Hebridean island of Islay where the horizon toasts the ocean to meet the people who forage for gin

The sky is vast and constantly moving. Across 270 degrees of skyline the wind is sprinting clouds over the sea towards an expansive landscape of beaches, cliffs and grasslands.

It s so magnificent you d want to bottle it. And yet we are not paying attention to the epic landscape. No.

We re on the Rhinns of Islay, one of two peninsulas on Islay which jut out provocatively into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Botanist is the island s first and only gin and is flavoured with 22 botanicals leaves, flowers and herbs all found growing wild on Islay and foraged sustainably.

We re not the first to stare so intently at the ground. Our foraging activities mirror those of 18th-century Islay s illicit distillers.

That s how Islay became a birthplace of whisky distilling, and how it built its reputation.

3 The sky is vast and constantly moving. Across 270 degrees of skyline the wind is sprinting clouds over the sea towards an expansive landscape of beaches, cliffs and grasslands. The sea is churning out perfect tube waves, the clean white beach in the bay is entirely empty and the land is glowing with the warmth of the peat it s made from. It s so magnificent you d want to bottle it. And yet we are not paying attention to the epic landscape. No. We re staring at a small muddy patch of ground where we ve just been told by Glaswegian bartender and forager Danny Whelan that we have found bog myrtle. This is significant. We re on the Rhinns of Islay, one of two peninsulas on Islay which jut out provocatively into the Atlantic Ocean. Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland and is renowned for its whisky. However, we re here for the gin but not any old gin. The Botanist is the island s first and only gin and is flavoured with 22 botanicals leaves, flowers and herbs all found growing wild on Islay and foraged sustainably. Bog myrtle, also known as sweet gale, is one, and determined to find as many of these essential ingredients as we can, our focus is fixed firmly on the plant life beneath our feet. We re not the first to stare so intently at the ground. Our foraging activities mirror those of 18th-century Islay s illicit distillers. While The Botanist gin has been made by the Bruichladdich (pronounced brook-laddie) Distillery since 2010, according to local resident and distillery employee Carl Reavey, gin making may have had a much longer history on the island. There were literally thousands of people on little farms scattered all over the landscape distilling usquebaugh [the forerunner of modern single malt whisky] in illicit stills, he says. That s how Islay became a birthplace of whisky distilling, and how it built its reputation. But the usquebaugh (pronounced oo-shka-var and meaning water of life ), flavoured with local botanicals, was actually much more like gin in taste and appearance. Back in the day there would have been lots of juniper [the primary flavouring in gin] to be had, lots of bog myrtle, Outside the Bruichladdich distillery, Danny Whelan in the back of the Audi A4 allroad quattro, preparing for a day of foraging on Islay. His findings will eventually make their way to the distillery, where Adam Hannet (below right) will infuse them into the gin whin, thistles, bitter herbs like wood sage, and different types of mint, Reavey explains. It would have been natural for distillers to reach for these when they were building their early products. Controversial, maybe, for an island which has a reputation built on whisky, but it has the right to be proud. Islay, which is around 25 miles long by 20 miles wide, thrives in the face of the elements. It s the combination of history and landscape that s the key to the success of its farming, fishing, whisky and now gin. All of the gin s botanicals flourish in these wind-battered conditions and each makes a unique contribution to its flavour. We jump in the Audi A4 allroad and drive to Saligo Bay on the ocean-battered west coast. The tiny road gives amazing views of the sea before turning into a track down to the beach. Here we forage among the coastal grasses, before climbing the clifftops above, known locally as the opera cliffs because of their similarity to the roofline of the Sydney Opera House. Beneath these, native juniper thrives, as apparently it loves nothing better than facing everything a stormy Atlantic can throw at it. We happily watch as Whelan clambers down a cliff face to retrieve this contrary but crucial little plant. When I crush it in my fingers, I m taken aback to find that it smells exactly like gin. I shouldn t be surprised. Botanical spirits are precisely so-called because of the flavours the botanicals bring to the liquid, and each place has its own botanicals. This is nothing new. The fancy way to describe it is to say that the gin, like wine, has terroir. So, as we rub various leaves between our fingers, the character of each of the gin s notes is revealed: sweetness, spice and salt. The bog myrtle and wood sage give the gin woody notes, says Whelan. Apple mint, spearmint, and water mint give fruitiness, and meadowsweet and lemon balm add some excellent perfume notes. If Islay s wildness is part of its beauty, The Botanist is all that wind, sky and land bottled. The person responsible for distilling the island s essence is distillery manager >> All of the gin s botanicals flourish in these wind-battered conditions, and each makes a unique contribution to its flavour

sweet smell of success Botanicals are all around us whether you live in the country or the city.

But you don t have to head to Scotland to enjoy them here are five of nature s finest found in the UK Fig. 1 Bog myrtle myrica gale Fig.

3 common juniper Found in Scotland and the south of England, Juniper loves exposed chalk and limestone heaths, rocky slopes and cliffs.

4 Bog myrtle Water mint As you d imagine, bog myrtle, Abundant at the edges of or sweet gale, thrives in bogs, streams, in damp meadows marshes, and

It can It grows over a foot tall with make the whole area where clumps of tiny purple flowers it grows smell sweet like and stalked, hairy, oval leaves

4 ipad extra See more on the Audi Magazine ipad app illustrator Katie Vernon WATER MINT mentha aquatica Fig. 5 APPLE MINT mentha x villosa Fig.

4 sweet smell of success Botanicals are all around us whether you live in the country or the city. With the help of our expert guide, we identified and hand-picked many of the 22 herbs that give Islay s gin its distinctive flavour. But you don t have to head to Scotland to enjoy them here are five of nature s finest found in the UK Fig. 1 Bog myrtle myrica gale Fig. 2 SWEET CHAMOMILE chamaemelum nobile Fig. 3 common JUNIPER juniperus communis Fig. 3 common juniper Found in Scotland and the south of England, Juniper loves exposed chalk and limestone heaths, rocky slopes and cliffs. A low-growing evergreen, it produces blue-black fruit every other year that s essential to gin, but also good for cooking. Fig. 1 Fig. 4 Bog myrtle Water mint As you d imagine, bog myrtle, Abundant at the edges of or sweet gale, thrives in bogs, streams, in damp meadows marshes, and heaths, mostly and by marshland, water mint in Scotland, north Wales and can be found all over Britain. north west England. It can It grows over a foot tall with make the whole area where clumps of tiny purple flowers it grows smell sweet like and stalked, hairy, oval leaves balsam, cloves and pine. you can steep into mint tea. Fig. 4 ipad extra See more on the Audi Magazine ipad app illustrator Katie Vernon WATER MINT mentha aquatica Fig. 5 APPLE MINT mentha x villosa Fig. 2 Sweet chamomile Chamomile can be identified by its sweet apple smell and daisy-like flowers. For centuries it has been used to treat a variety of ailments such as colds and fevers, and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Fig. 5 Apple mint Bright apple green leaves make this mint worthy of its namesake, as does the slightly fruity edge to its taste. This botanical adds a sweet freshness to The Botanist gin, and makes a great garnish for any summer drink

I can taste the island in The Botanist. If it were made anywhere else it wouldn t be the same Danny Whelan, forager and bartender Allan Logan, one of only three who people who knows the method.

First, to make something so unique requires an extraordinary piece of equipment.

I was very much involved in its redesign, implementing all the modifications, constructing it and putting it all together, Logan explains.

Its rarity suggests that it didn t really take off in the world of whisky, but its squat, bolted-together cylindrical sections are perfect for creating The Botanist gin.

the botanicals further along. The first time Logan and McEwan ran the still, in a moment evocative of illicit distillers from the past, they kept it a secret.

The main body of the still was filled with methanol, water and core botanicals, including juniper, then boiled.

We ran the still slowly for 15 hours and the flavour was consistent, adds Logan. It was amazing for us to experience that for the first time.

5 I can taste the island in The Botanist. If it were made anywhere else it wouldn t be the same Danny Whelan, forager and bartender Allan Logan, one of only three who people who knows the method. Born and bred in Islay, the fourth-generation distiller explains that from the start the gin has been made with science, skill and a generous splash of superstition. First, to make something so unique requires an extraordinary piece of equipment. Logan and master distiller Jim McEwan found what they were looking for in a rescued Lomond still the last one of its kind. Then they set to work adapting it. I was very much involved in its redesign, implementing all the modifications, constructing it and putting it all together, Logan explains. Invented in 1955, the Lomond still is a Frankensteinesque contraption built to produce different kinds of whisky in one still. Its rarity suggests that it didn t really take off in the world of whisky, but its squat, bolted-together cylindrical sections are perfect for creating The Botanist gin. Logan was able to put an extra section into the neck which houses a louvre system of copper plates to further purify the alcohol as it passes through, and another metal cask-like section containing the botanicals further along. The first time Logan and McEwan ran the still, in a moment evocative of illicit distillers from the past, they kept it a secret. We weren t sure whether it would work, so we tested it in the middle of the night. If it had been a disaster, no one would have known, says Logan. The main body of the still was filled with methanol, water and core botanicals, including juniper, then boiled. The steam passed up through the louvre system first, then through the cask of botanicals, where it gained its unique dimensions, and then cooled. We ran the still slowly for 15 hours and the flavour was consistent, adds Logan. It was amazing for us to experience that for the first time. It s testament to their experience and skill, and possibly a little luck, that they got it right first time. Nevertheless, now there s a fair bit of superstition about running the still in exactly the same way for every single batch. We have to put the core botanicals in different layers in the main still in a certain order, says assistant distillery Making The Botanist gin really is an Islay affair from botanicals hand-picked by islanders to the distillation process in a modified copper still using water pumped from a well on farmer James Brown s (top right) land manager Adam Hannet, who was let in on the secret last year. They spread the core botanicals around the liquid using a piece of pipe rigged up with electrical cable. We always use it because it was used for the first time, and it might be the one thing that makes the difference, he says. And who knows? As Whelan says: I can taste the sights and smells of the island in the gin. If The Botanist were made anywhere else it would taste entirely different. Even the water is carefully sourced from an old well on a farm near the distillery. So we pop in for a nosey at the well and a cup of tea with farmer James Brown, a hearty man who crushes your bones with the effusiveness of his welcome. Twenty years earlier, he and Reavey were discussing how the village used to pump its water from a well of sweet spring water on his land. One hot summer day they set out to find it. The land had slipped slightly, but after some digging they found the Victorian lid over the original well, just as Brown had remembered from his childhood. The friends thought nothing more of it, until the Bruichladdich distillery was revived in It s good water, full of minerals after coming through the second-oldest rocks in Europe, says Brown. I suggested that when the distillery serve whisky they offer spring water at the same time, so there are no chemicals involved. It took off from there, and now they re making this wonderful gin with the water. Using an old metal dipper, he draws some water for us to taste: it s clear, cold and sweet. At the end of the day, red-faced from the sun and wind on our faces, refreshed by spring water and loaded with our foraged findings, all that remains to be seen is how it all the water, the weather, the flavour of the fauna, the still and the superstition combine to capture the spirit of the island. Whelan opens a bottle and pours, garnishing it with the fruits of our labour, mixing the story of our day with the distillation of the land we ve visited. Glasses in hand, we raise them and drink in all that skill, wildness and beauty. It goes down well. Very well. apple

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