Crieff Hydro Group has invested £500,000 to increase its distillery’s capacity as it expects strong demand for its gin brand 1881.
The gin distillery is housed within the Perthshire hotel group’s 132-bedroom Peebles Hydro Hotel, which also has the UK’s largest gin school.
The investment comes as the sixth generation of the hotel group’s owners, the Leckie family, has been appointed to run the gin distillery and drive forward a growth strategy for the brand.
Ambitious plans
Upon his appointment as brand manager, Charlie Leckie said the gin brand was attracting interest from nationwide retailers.
He said: “It’s a very special product with a blend of carefully chosen Scottish botanicals and distilled in the heart of the Borders.
“The UK’s love of gin shows no sign of cooling off so this is an exciting time to be taking the product to market.
“We’ve carefully rebranded every element of our gin bottles and 1881 brand – the bottle has been redesigned with unique artisan illustrations for each flavour to represent our history and passion for the Borders and the product itself.
“We have ambitious growth plans for the 1881 gin brand with several new products already in the pipeline that are attracting the attention of nationwide retailers.”
Botanicals
The 1881 names comes from the year the hotel was founded.
It uses local botanicals and a sustainable onsite Spring water source at Shieldgreen – the same mineral-rich spring originally famed for rejuvenating water treatments.
Stephen Leckie, chairman and chief executive of Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, said: “We’re embarking on an exciting new chapter for our family business, repositioning our 1881 gin brand to more accurately represent our heritage and values.
“I’m proud to entrust my son Charlie alongside the experienced 1881 Distillery team to lead our efforts in taking this brand from strength to strength.”
1881 Gin
The 1881 gin brand comprises four core products all sold as 70cl bottles.
Hydro Gin (40% ABV) is a blend of 12 Botanicals. The onsite Shieldgreen spring provides a sustainable source of rejuvenation and the inspiration for the flagship London dry gin.
Pavilion Gin (40% ABV) is a blend of 15 Botanicals creating Borders berry and hibiscus infused gin. Inspired by the Victorian Pavilion at Peebles Hydro and its connection to tennis as the Pavilion once overlooked more tennis courts than Wimbledon.
Rafters Gin (40% ABV) is a blend of 12 botanicals infused with oka oak smoked water. This subtly smoked revival gin is inspired by the resolve of the community after the inferno which engulfed Peebles Hydro in the summer of 1905 before being rebuilt.
Honours Gin (57% ABV) is a blend of 12 botanicals. This navy strength gin is named in honour of those injured during WWII, a time when Peebles Hydro served as a military hospital. The heritage of hospitality is preserved in waves of citrus and cardamom.
