NEW Smoke and Zest Gin

We are very happy to be introducing our new gin, Smoke and Zest. An inventive botanical recipe inspired by Fife grown barley and the quest to create a smoky gin.

This is the second in the limited-edition Cottage Series range and to achieve this unique flavour we have used barley smoked over pinewood chips, rowanberry that grows around our distillery, coriander from our cottage garden, orange peel and Lapsang Souchong tea. The botanicals combine to create an experimental gin that has a malty depth, is full of sweet citrus zest and develops a big smoky flavour.

In making Smoke and Zest, Darnley’s Gin Distiller Scott Gowans experimented with various methods and collaborated with both his family and the Kingsbarns Distillery team to bring this flavour profile to life.

This gin celebrates the Fife grown barley that has been selected for sister brand Kingsbarns Single Malt Whisky which is distilled in the same location, at East Newhall Farm, outside the village of Kingsbarns.

Scott enlisted the help of his family who owns a commercial smoker, to steep and slowly smoke the malted barley over pine wood chips. The introduction of Lapsang Souchong tea, also traditionally smoked over pinewood, brings an exotic second smoky botanical into the recipe with cool menthol notes.

Rowanberry and coriander from the distillery grounds and orange peel from Turkey lend the gin its sweet and zesty flavour.

Scott Gowans commented, “Creating a smoky gin has been an exciting development project and for this second Cottage Series release, I was again inspired by botanicals found around the distillery.

Orange peel and Rowanberry were the starting point for Smoke & Zest, the latter is also known as Mountain Ash so it inspired me to explore matching the zesty citrus with smoke notes.

Taking cues from Lapsang Souchong tea production, I experimented by smoking Fife grown barley over pine wood chips. Barley fields surround the distillery and my colleagues prize this local produce to make Kingsbarns Single Malt whisky.

The finished gin is unusual but very approachable and still has juniper at its heart. It’s an amazing marriage of orange and zest flavours upfront, with a malty character and a smoke intensity that grows over time.”

Just 2,400 bottles of Darnley’s Gin ‘Smoke and Zest’ have been produced so visit our shop now to add this unusual gin to your collection.