First Impressions
Byron's Gin honours the poet Lord Byron and is produced at Speyside Distillery in the Cairngorm foothills — in collaboration with Andy Amphlett, County Recorder for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. The Melancholy Thistle expression features seven Highland botanicals: melancholy thistle (a tall, purple-flowered native), aspen, Scots pine, sweet vernal grass, rowan, downy birch, and juniper. Country Winner Compound Gin at the 2020 World Gin Awards.
Tasting
Seven botanicals from the Highland landscape. The nose is vibrant — sweet juniper and pine with a tangy freshness. On the palate at 43%, tangy fresh citrus with mellow juniper, richly herbaceous character. Scots pine offers a solid backbone of warming spice. The melancholy thistle adds subtle bitter-herbal character. The finish is smooth, mellow, and woody — downy birch and aspen providing gentle wood notes, sweet vernal grass adding hay-like sweetness.
The Bottom Line
Byron's Melancholy Thistle earns a 7 — a gin where every botanical grows in the Scottish Highlands and is botanically verified by the BSBI. The melancholy thistle, aspen, and sweet vernal grass are botanicals you will not find in any other gin. Country Winner at the World Gin Awards confirms the quality. Best neat or in a G&T with light tonic. At £40, a botanist's gin in every sense.
