Cocktails Distilled
Cocktails Distilled
Tulchan Gin: Creating A Gin In Scotland's Speyside
When you think of the terroir of the Speyside region in Scotland, your mind very easily goes to the flavours and terroir of Whisky, but what if those same notes you love could actually come through in a Gin?
That's what we talk about with Kara Anderson, Global Brand Lead for Tulchan Gin. A recent addition to the Gin market, Tulchan has been created on the banks of the River Spey in the grounds of Tulchan Estate.
She shares the fascinating story of how a team of flavour experts walked the land of the Estate to create a bespoke list of botanicals that not only reflect the terroir of the land and also make this gin simply extraordinary.
She goes on to talk about the distillation process and shares some of the cocktail recipes created for the brand by renowned bartender Salvatore Calabrese.
So, don't miss this intriguing conversation about the world of Tulchan Gin and the distinct flavours of the Speyside region.
This is Cocktails Distilled, a podcast that takes your favourite spirits and liqueurs from the still to the cocktail glass. In each episode, we talk to the distillers and creators about particular expressions that their brand has released, what they are, why they were created and in what cocktails they can be used. Are you ready to understand what's in your glass? Or perhaps should be? Welcome to Cocktails Distilled.
Tiff Christie:When you think of Speyside, you probably naturally think of whiskey with light floral flavors, but the Highland region has more to offer the spirit world than just a dram of whiskey. On the banks of the River Spay, in the grounds of Tulchan Estate, best known for its hunting and fishing opportunities, lies the distillery that is producing some of the area's best gin. Launched last year by the Stolli Group, Tulchan is a premium premium gin inspired by the terroir of the Tulchan Estate, a property surrounded by 22,000 acres of moors, lakes and valleys. To find out more, we talk to Kara Anderson, Tulchan Gin Global Brand Lead, about terroir, cocktails and creating gin in a whiskey-orientated region. Thank you for joining us, Kara.
Kara Anderson:Thank you for having me. It's lovely to meet you.
Tiff Christie:Tulchen has traditionally been a hunting lodge for the rich and famous. What prompted the decision to start distilling?
Kara Anderson:Well, I think, being Scottish and entertaining in a true Scottish hospitality way, there's always alcohol involved, right? And then also that land, I mean Speyside is absolute beauty. Just within Tulchan, we have eight miles of the River Spey, we have lots of flat land and lots of great land for distilling, and 51% of all whisky distilleries are in that region. So I think it was always something we were going to do, and I think we were definitely spurred on by the land, the flavours of the land and the proximity to all these amazing whisky distilleries.
Tiff Christie:Now that of course, raises the question if you were going to distill, why didn't you distill whisky instead of gin, as one would assume?
Kara Anderson:True, I mean, many of the greats are literally around the corner we've got McCallan, and we've got Glen Livet right there. But yeah, I mean, we decided to do gin, and how it was created actually is we got a team of flavour experts to walk the land and to basically surmise the land in flavour form, so pick any kind of botanicals, the flora from the land surrounding Tulchan, so on the estate, and then sort of create bespoke flavours from that. And once they did that, that really kind of lent itself to a gin rather than a whiskey. So we decided to make a gin that really kind of encompassed Tolkien estate and the flavours of the estate. Whether we make more, whether we make a whiskey, I don't know, I'd love to. Certainly, Gin was there. It's not the case that we have a whiskey coming, that a whisky is ageing and we're just putting out a gin. First of all, we really wanted to create a gin, and gin is what we did first. So we really have, i think, have nailed that, and then the future distillation options are still open.
Tiff Christie:Talking about the botanicals that you discovered exploring around the grounds. There are a number of them that you use in the gin. Can you run through what some of those are?
Kara Anderson:Yeah, so there's 14 altogether. We do have your main ones. It's a London Dry style, so it's Juniper-forward much . We've got your citrus notes in there, you've got your bitters, oris root and your more traditional ones that aren't famously in Speyside. However, what does grow naturally on the land that I think gives Tulchan that sort of Speyside edge and definitely brings alive the Tulchan estate flavour profile, is Brambleleaf So Bramble Scottish word for blackberry leaf, elderflower, sloe berries And then one that's quite interesting actually is asparagus that we have in there.
Tiff Christie:Oh, that's unusual.
Kara Anderson:It's very unusual. I always say that the greatest distillers distill a spirit that doesn't have flavours that you can detect. Really right, you can taste, maybe, sweet flavours. You can taste dry flavours. You get different parts of your tongue and your mouth that tingle when you taste something. So the idea of a great spirit and a great master blender or distiller will distill something that takes you on a flavour journey. So you won't be able to taste asparagus, even though I've told you it's in there and some people say they do, but I don't think you can. What I do think it does is at the end it adds that kind of bitterness. You get it sort of the dry bitterness down the side of your throat So it almost makes you salivate and then makes you want more. So I think it's a real clever botanical to use because it really adds that great length and really kind of makes you dive in for more.
Tiff Christie:Does it give it any sort of herbaceous tones to the gin?
Kara Anderson:I think a classic London dry style tends to be quite herbaceous You know yourself doing it, for is more like a spruce or a pine tree note than a fruit or a berry as it's called. So yes, there is some herbaceous notes to talk in, but it's very well balanced with the other botanicals or from the more fruity and sweet botanicals as well, and citrus.
Tiff Christie:So it does have that sort of flavour journey An interesting question is do you believe that the terroir of the region is so distinct that a whisky drinker would recognise those flavour notes in your gin?
Kara Anderson:Oh, i mean, that's a great debate, right. I'm not sure we can test that to be exact, but I would say, yes, i think you know the kind of classic categories that are given to whiskey regions and how it's cut up is. You know your highlands, your lowlands, your isles and your Speyside islands. So within the highlands you have Speyside, which I said was over 51% of distilleries are there. It's known for its distilling qualities And they normally taste light, floral, some fruity, very kind of approachable whiskys, and I definitely classify Tulchan as that. So if that's how we're categorising, with the common flavour profiles of Speyside as a region, then yes, i thinkTulchan sits within that. And I think we can, we can kind of apply those terms light, fruity, it's very approachable, it's it's it's not sweet, but it's sweeter than some London Dry styles and has a kind of citrus in there as well.
Tiff Christie:So a much more approachable London Dry than you would typically find.
Kara Anderson:Yeah, and I think to its credit. It's it's so smooth, it's 45%, so it's not shy on the alcohol And it's super, super smooth. That makes it makes a mean martini anyway.
Tiff Christie:Are you perhaps trying to bring some of the local whisky drinkers into the gin fold perhaps?
Kara Anderson:Well, i have a theory. So I'm from Scotland and I've worked in, you know, i used to own my own bars and I used to be in a old whiskey bond And then I worked for a few whisky companies. So I've known quite a few whiskey drinkers in my past And I have a theory that whiskey drinkers tend to drink a gin and tonic as their first drink of the night or as a sort of palate cleanser, and if they don't, they tend to be with someone that will drink gin and tonic.
Kara Anderson:So I think it goes quite hand in hand. I think whisky drinkers tend to tend to have gin in their cupboard as well and tend to enjoy the lightness of gin before they move into whisky. So this is my theory, and I think, looking at the heritage and looking at the origins and the terroir that Tolkien is from, it has the benefit and the distillation quality and the heritage of whisky's to which I think whiskey drinkers certainly understand. So the fact that they will understand space and the merits of distilling in space, I think they'll appreciate the qualities of Tulchan Gin.
Tiff Christie:Let's talk a little bit about what you do with those botanicals In your distillation. Are you steeping or are you vapour infusing? We steep the botanicals Right. Do you want to take us through that process?
Kara Anderson:Yeah, of course. So all the process is done in Speyside and Tulchan, as I said, uses 14 natural botanicals which are chosen to create a sort of fresh and balanced flavour journey. And then the key ones that we spoke about. They sort of reflect the Speyside flora of the land And the botanicals are hand-wade literally hand-wade to the grime to ensure each and every batch is consistent, and they're then steeped in neutral grain spirit for up to 24 hours And then the batch mixture is distilled in copper pot stills over the course of about eight hours. Now we keep the temperature quite low, under one bar of steam, just to keep that real fresh flavour. And then the waste product from all the distillation is returned to the surrounding farms to use as fertilizer. But the batch distillate is then taken and cut with our pure Scottish water and bottled at a partner plant.
Tiff Christie:Just staying on the botanicals a little bit longer. I mean, obviously, when you first went around to see what was growing on the property, you were foraging. But I imagine that foraging wouldn't provide enough product to be able to make to incorporate with the genes. So are you now intensively farming these botanicals?
Kara Anderson:So no, we're not. We don't actually use botanicals from the land. The recipe and the sourcing of the flavour profile was taken from the land, but we cannot function enough botanicals to make for the gin, So we actually we buy the botanicals in.
Tiff Christie:Oh, okay, i misunderstood that. Okay, now, with all those botanical flavours, can you talk us through the tasting notes that people can expect from the gin?
Kara Anderson:Yeah, absolutely. And you know I always say I'll give you my tasting notes but it's very subjective, right? I don't know your sweet taste, my sweet taste and jammy notes to your jammy notes. So I say this with sort of with it in mind. That is definitely how I taste it.
Kara Anderson:Now, the nose on Tulchan, if you start, there is very gin and perforated And, like we said before, gin and perforated, not that sweet berry you would expect, it's a real kind of green, vegetational, sort of forest, sprucey taste and nose And I think you get a lot of that.
Kara Anderson:I almost say you know, when you're nosing tilken it's like walking through a sort of damp forest.
Kara Anderson:You get a little bit of citrus, but then on the palate what's really lovely, i think, is it's completely different, it's a real surprise and it's not like what you've just nose. So when you try it, at first you get a real citrus note And I think you know we have lemon and we have orange in there And for me it's a sweeter citrus, so it's more sort of orange citrus that comes through And then you also get a real nice jammy note that kind of like fills out the mid palate. So you get those sweeter botanicals, almost fruity botanicals that lend well to sort of deep struge or jammy notes. Very much sort of blackberry coming through there for me, and then it goes on as a gorgeous length more kind of bitter flavors. So again you get those bitter flavors. Don't really come in a form of a flavor for me, but you get that kind of tingle down the back of your throat and tongue that just really kind of carries on that beautiful length.
Tiff Christie:Which you said could be attributed to a certain degree to the asparagus.
Kara Anderson:Yeah, definitely, and I mean it's a balance right. Again, the job with a master distiller is to distill these botanicals in the right form in order to give that profile. So the more kind of bitter botanicals mixed together to really give that nice, that nice length and bitter edge.
Tiff Christie:This is the first expression that the brand has released, which is the London Dry.
Kara Anderson:Correct.
Tiff Christie:Are there plans or intentions to create other variations, such as maybe a slow gin or If I have anything to do with it.
Kara Anderson:Absolutely, i think the most exciting thing to do is, you know, come up with innovations. I always say the gin drinker is a promiscuous drinker right, they're always looking for something new. I tend to be as well. I love the innovation that's happening within gins right now. So there's kind of you know, there's no bounds, and I think we've got such an amazing opportunity with being in space. I know the flavors that come with space. I don't know the distilling heritage and knowledge that we have in space. I that we could do some really cool stuff. So, yes, absolutely, what that is yet I'm not sure, but definitely experimenting with a few things.
Tiff Christie:So there's the possibility that whisky barrels might help with a little bit of aging in the future. Who knows?
Kara Anderson:Who knows? But yeah, I'd say a lot of genius innovations. Come with what surrounds you. Come with what you can get your hands on.
Tiff Christie:Of course. of course I assume that the property is still being used as a hunting lodge, but can people actually just come for the day to see the distillery?
Kara Anderson:You can drop by the distillery. but you're right, mostly Tolkien estate is used as a sporting estate, so mainly famous for its fishing spay. it's famous for salmon and we have trout locks as well, so there's a lot of fishing lodges in there. You can actually book holiday cottages and cabins there. It's a gorgeous, absolutely massive estate that offers lots of different sort of activities as well as accommodation. So, yeah, that's run as a sort of sporting and holiday environment. You can't book tours or anything with the distillery but, quite like most places in Scotland, if you just pop in and say hi, can I have a look around, i'm pretty sure they'd be happy with that.
Tiff Christie:Okay, that's good to know. Yeah, we would be remiss if we didn't, of course, talk about the rather striking bottle that the gin is coming in. It's a very distinctive blue that I imagine stands out quite well on the shelves. Do you want to talk us through a little bit of the design and thoughts that went into the look and feel?
Kara Anderson:Yeah, absolutely. I think it definitely goes against the grain of what more recent gin brands have done with packaging. I think gin bottles have tended to be sort of more white, simple in their decoration and design. So we thought we'd go against the grain and really put something on shelves that would stand out. And yes, that starts with the blue bottle. It's got a gorgeous deep blue hue, and that actually reflects the river Spey. It's very important to us and that we have eight miles off. So what's lovely about the bottle is actually every bit of it tells a story, a story of our heritage, of our location, of who we are. It very much embodies our Scottishness. I say it's sort of unashamedly Scottish. It's very proud and bold.
Tiff Christie:Now, it's got the tartan down the side as well, hasn't it?
Kara Anderson:Yes, which is our own custom Tulchan tartan. So we had it made specifically for Tulchan. So normally tartan is given to your last name. Like I'm Anderson, so I'm an Anderson tartan. But actually, we thought this is really important to create and sort of identify us as Scottish. So we made our own tartan and actually put it on the bottle, which I think is quite unique. How extraordinary, yeah. And then the other, i mean Sorry, just out of curiosity.
Tiff Christie:Is that one of something that you have to go through official channels to do, or can you just do it yourselves?
Kara Anderson:You can do it, but it's actually a really it's a craft right. It's still kind of hand woven tartan and you have there's only certain mills that do it. So we did it in knock and do mill, which is in Speyside, And you have to talk to them and talk through what the colours mean, what the colours signify. So again, there's blue in there for the river and we've got red for the land, for the soil, and there's green for all the grass as well, Like so they tell the story through the colours and the pattern, which is really lovely.
Tiff Christie:And they, as I assume, know enough of the other tartans to know that you're not too close to somebody else's tartan.
Kara Anderson:Yeah, so you have to register it. Sorry, you have to register it so that it's not the same as any other. So, yeah, there's thousands of different tartans out there.
Tiff Christie:Yeah, now I could imagine it'd be a little bit overwhelming trying to work out what hasn't been used in Exactly Now. There's also a backpiper on the label as well.
Kara Anderson:There is our grouse piper. So yeah, he was put on it. So if you've ever been up to the region it is covered in grouse, and grouse is a very sort of independent and proud bird that sort of feeds off the heather of the land So comes very kind of low in the food chain but doesn't have many, many bigger things going after it. So there's tons of them and they walk very chest proud. So very kind of proud, independent birds. And when we were designing the label we thought this sort of reflected Scottish people. They're very proud, they're very independent, they'd like to independently walk the land. So we decided to put him and then put him in the traditional kilt and have bagpipes on there as well, just to give some more Scottish connotations.
Kara Anderson:And I think, just to say about the bottle as well, it's very much designed to sort of give a nod to where we're from and the whiskey culture that we've come from. So it's actually based on a whiskey flask. The bottle so you'll see it's got quite nice kind of rounded shoulders And my favorite bit is got this awesome cork. So when you open a bottle of whiskey or a bottle of wine and you've got a real cork and there you get this amazing pop that just makes you want to dive into that bottle, and we have that with a sort of real kind of solid wooden closure, so it's got that real nice heavy weight to it. So, yeah, i think it's a beautifully designed bottle and it's really been thought out in every every part of it.
Tiff Christie:And I believe there is thistle stamped into the cork.
Kara Anderson:On the cork Yes, a Scottish emblem. So, yes, we have a thistle on the cork as well, so there's not many Scottish emblems that we haven't got on that bottle.
Tiff Christie:People are not going to not know where this is from.
Kara Anderson:Yeah, they're not going to think it's English, are they?
Tiff Christie:No, no, not at all. Salvador Calabrese did a lot of your cocktails for you, which is quite impressive. Do you want to talk us through the sort of brief that you gave him for that and the drinks that he came up with?
Kara Anderson:Yeah, definitely, And I think you know you can find the drinks and how to make them on our website, with a sort of note from him And he's very much a friend of the brand. So he offered to kind of help out. And I have more. I should really send out the other cocktails that he did because they were amazing. But what we did is we I mean we gave him the bottle. You don't tell him how to make cocktails, right So we gave him the bottle, he tried it, he got the flavour notes and he really kind of worked with Tulchan and what works with it.
Kara Anderson:He did a classic gin and tonic, or Tulchan tonic, I like to call it. It's quite a nice bar call And then moved on to a martini which obviously he's famous for. But we actually recommended to increase the vermouth to have a sort of wet martini And then obviously you know, amend it to how you like to drink your martinis. But it was Tulchan. Being 45% and that sort of flavour some smooth, It really stands up to the vermouth and makes a lovely, lovely wet martini. And then the other one that he did was sort of the more celebratory gin cocktail, of a twist on a French 75. So coined it as Speyside 75 with Tulchan, and then obviously your lemon and champagne. So they have the kind of classics that he did as our take on it.
Kara Anderson:But he also did some really cool stuff He did. Two of my favourites were a lavender fizz. He really brought out lavender flavours, which are very common in Scotland as well, and made a lavender soda with orange peel through it And then added that to lemon and gin and made a sort of tall cooler which is lovely, And then a purple water as well, So made a sort of sweeter, more dessert drink with creme de cacao, butterfly pea tea. Tea and gin obviously work really well together And this is more of a floral tea, and then some double cream and a whiskey liqueur and mixed all that together And it's a gorgeous, gorgeous dessert cocktail. So he really he went simple and then really far, as he often does. So, yeah, the cocktails are delicious.
Tiff Christie:If people want to muck around themselves with making some cocktails. What flavour profiles do you think work particularly well with this gin?
Kara Anderson:I think I mean making cocktails is like cooking right, that's probably the best way to put it for me. You know the ingredients that you're comfortable with and you know the ingredients that go together, And I think you know I'd urge people just to have a play about. If I could advise, I would say, you know, even in our Tulchan tonics and in our Negroni pour, I advise us our sweeter orange, because I think that sweet orange citrus note comes through very well with Tulchan. So the orange flavours go very well, it is quite a floral-forward gin. So lavender flavours, your jams. I actually add a spoonful of Blackberry jam to my Negroni, and it works really well with Tulchan, just brings out that bramble. So I think definitely sort of taste it first and see what you taste again. That's subjective, but naturally the sort of flavours that you taste within the gin, if you use them within your cocktail making you should come out with something pretty awesome.
Tiff Christie:What occasions do you feel that the gin works best for?
Kara Anderson:Good question. I mean I'd say I hear a lot of gin is just a spring, summer drink, and I just don't think that's true. I don't think people suddenly stop drinking gin because, you know, the autumn colours are coming on the trees, so I do think it's a year-round of occasion. I, for one, love and to my whiskey theory as well, i love gin as a first drink of the night. I love that sort of you know They're normally quite citrus forward and then Tulchan is as well. So it's that kind of nice refreshing, palate cleanser to end your day, start your night, sort of drink. So I tend to definitely have a gin and tonic before a meal, and then I think the versatility of gin is amazing. So you can then go on to sort of cocktails through dinner and then celebrate cocktails with champagne that we talked about, or even, you know, the Salvatore Purple Water is very much a dessert cocktail. So I think from a certain time and place you can drink it anytime, occasion wise. I mean, coming from Scotland, there's some occasions that I definitely want to see people drinking more Tolkien, and that for me would be.
Kara Anderson:There's such a thing as Tartan Day. So on April 6th every year there is Tartan Day Now. This goes back to when we well, when the original declaration of our broth, our independence declaration, was created and signed, it was on the 6th. And now that's called Tartan Day And there's, you know, there's parades that happen in New York. We don't often do much in Scotland, i hadn't really heard of it much, but I think it's a great opportunity to celebrate Scottish culture and drink Scottish gin. So I definitely say around April is when we do it as well, and then Burns Night is the other one, january 25th, when you're a little bit bored of dry January and you're drinking again. Of course, yes, and we definitely should celebrate the poet Rabbie Burns and raise a glass of Tolkien to him in January too.
Tiff Christie:What do you want people to take away from their experience with Tulchan?
Kara Anderson:Just that it tastes great. I think the reason we talk about the heritage and the location of Speyside is because of the near 200 years of distilling expertise that are in that region. Scottish people tend to distil really good alcohol And I think it's to be enjoyed. So we take all of that knowledge and we make a great spirit. But you should take it, put it in a glass the way you want to put it in a glass, Serve it however you want to serve it, whatever time of day you want to serve it with friends, hopefully and enjoy it. So I'd love people just to go out there and try it. It's a new gin. I know there's a lot of new gins on the market, but definitely want to try and enjoy it with friends.
Tiff Christie:Now, if people are going to try it, of course they need to know where it's available. Now you guys were initially available through the UK and the US and the Caribbean, But I believe this year you have expanded to reach quite a few more markets.
Kara Anderson:We have. It's really exciting actually. So I was just in Australia and we launched in Australia about two weeks ago now. I was there, so we've officially launched in Australia. We have had permission to launch in South Africa and Kenya, which I'm very excited about, and Canada next month as well, and then, like you said, we're pretty much every state in the US and then obviously throughout the UK too.
Tiff Christie:Okay, and what about Asia and the rest of Europe?
Kara Anderson:That's the plan for next year. Now we've done Australia, we're kind of hop over, we're also looking at the Nordic, so Denmark are viking past cross again. So Denmark and Sweden and Finland, and then I've got actually got a Czech Republic trip happening next week that we're launching there too And there's quite a few launch events going on, and I think Asia will come more next year.
Tiff Christie:Excellent. Sounds like there's a lot of international travel in your future.
Kara Anderson:I know It's very exciting. I'm very lucky.
Tiff Christie:If people, of course, want more information on the GIN, they can go to the website, which is Tulchangin. com, or, alternatively, connect with the brand via your socials, absolutely.
Kara Anderson:And please do and follow us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook. It's Tolkien underscore GIN.
Tiff Christie:Excellent, all right, well, look, kara. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.
Tiff Christie:And we'd also like to thank you for listening. Be sure to visit cocktailstostillcom to access the show notes And, if you like what you've heard, we'd love you to subscribe, rate or give a review on iTunes. Until next time, cheers. If you liked what you've heard, we'd love you to subscribe, rate or give a review on iTunes. Until next time, cheers.