Dunnet BayDistillers

Martin and Claire Murray founded Dunnet Bay Distillers in 2014, returning to Martin's native Caithness after careers in oil and gas engineering and in hospitality to build a distillery on the north coast. Production runs on two bespoke copper pot stills, Elizabeth and Margaret, the second named for Claire's mother, who serves as production supervisor. The flagship Rock Rose Gin takes its name from the local term for rhodiola rosea, one of several botanicals hand-foraged from the cliffs and machair nearby. The visitor centre, opened in 2018 inside a converted cattle shed built from Caithness stone, houses a shop, tasting room and event kitchen three miles from Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the British mainland. Tours run twice daily from April to September, with a shorter winter timetable, and bottles are hand-filled, wax-sealed and individually numbered.