Tulchan Speyside London Dry Gin 14 Scottish Botanicals Sloe Berries Elderflower Asparagus Estate Grown Small Batch Copper Pot Still 45% ABV 90 Proof 750ml

Speyside is the most celebrated whisky-producing region on earth — home to Glenfiddich, The Macallan, Glenlivet, Aberlour, and dozens more legends of the malt. It is not, historically, a gin country. And yet the 22,000-acre Tulchan Estate on the banks of the River Spey — surrounded by pristine moors, ancient glens, and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland — has produced one of the most interesting, most decorated, and most distinctly Scottish gins to emerge from the current craft gin movement.

Launched in 2022 under the Stoli Group umbrella, Tulchan Gin is a small-batch London Dry gin built on 14 botanicals — the majority of which are drawn directly from the estate and its surrounding Speyside landscape. The result is a gin that does something most competitors cannot: it tastes of the place it comes from. Juniper leads cleanly and confidently in the London Dry tradition, but the supporting cast — sloe berries, elderflower, blackberry leaves, chamomile, lemongrass, and the genuinely unexpected white asparagus — creates a botanical profile that is simultaneously familiar and distinctly northern Scottish in character. Fruity, floral, citrus-edged, and grounded by a subtle vegetal earthiness that no standard gin botanical list produces.

Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023. Double Gold at the International Spirits Competition 2023. 95 Points from Tasting Panel Magazine 2022. Three separate competitions, three years, three awards — the critical consensus on Tulchan is consistent and clear.

Origins & Craftsmanship

The Tulchan Estate occupies 22,000 acres in Moray, Speyside — on the eastern bank of the River Spey, near Grantown-on-Spey, in a landscape of exceptional natural beauty whose lochs, moors, heather moorlands, and ancient woodland provide the raw botanical material that defines the gin's character. The estate operates as a sporting and hospitality property — a world-class salmon fishing destination on the Spey, widely considered the finest river in Scotland — alongside its gin distilling operation, whose founding philosophy is to capture the estate's natural landscape in liquid form.

Distillation takes place in copper pot stills using a small-batch method — each batch built on the precise hand-weighing of all 14 botanicals to ensure consistency and freshness across every production run. Many of the botanicals, including sloe berries and blackberry leaves, are foraged or sourced directly from the Tulchan Estate itself — a locational provenance that gives the gin genuine terroir claims.

The botanical composition is where Tulchan earns its distinctiveness. The London Dry foundation is anchored by the classic triumvirate: juniper, angelica root, and orris root, joined by licorice for sweetness and structural depth. The Speyside character comes from the Scottish estate botanicals: sloe berries adding a gentle jammy fruitiness; elderflower contributing delicate white floral sweetness; blackberry leaves providing a subtle green, slightly tannic earthiness; chamomile adding a honey-soft floral warmth; and lemongrass alongside sweet orange peel and lemon peel delivering the citrus brightness that balances the whole. The defining surprise botanical is white asparagus — an unconventional choice that imparts a gentle vegetal bitterness and earthy nuttiness that balances the elderflower's sweetness and adds a complexity that sets Tulchan apart from more conventionally botanical gin profiles. Coriander rounds the whole with a warm, slightly nutty spice. Bottled at 45% ABV — 90 proof — a proof point that delivers the botanical complexity with genuine presence and warmth without harshness.

The bottle design draws its inspiration directly from the River Spey — the deep blue color mirroring the Spey's fast-moving water, its distinctive Tulchan tartan pattern a nod to the estate's Scottish Highland identity.

Critics Reviews

San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023 — Gold Medal International Spirits Competition 2023 — Double Gold Tasting Panel Magazine 2022 — 95 Points

Three consecutive years of major competition recognition confirming Tulchan's standing as one of the most decorated Scottish craft gins of its generation.

Tasting Profile

Nose Clean, bright, and invitingly Scottish. Resinous juniper leads with classic London Dry confidence — pine sap, sweet resin, and a heathery floral note that is immediately evocative of Speyside moorland. Lemon and orange peel add vivid citrus lift alongside lemongrass and a delicate elderflower sweetness that floats above the juniper. Chamomile and gentle herbs add a softer, honeyed dimension, while coriander provides a warm, nutty undertone. Very faint floral notes deepen the whole into something quietly complex — the asparagus's subtle influence felt as a barely detectable earthy undertone beneath the citrus and floral brightness that greets the nose first.

Palate Sweet and fruity at entry — the sloe berry and elderflower contributions arriving alongside candied citrus peel in a round, generous opening that is lighter and more approachable than the juniper-forward nose might suggest. Resin, cardamom, and licorice build steadily through the mid-palate, adding spice and structural depth alongside a coriander warmth that keeps the whole profile focused and cohesive. The asparagus botanical's vegetal bitterness emerges subtly here — not detectable as asparagus flavor but as an earthy, slightly nutty counterweight to the sweetness that prevents the gin from reading as too soft or floral. Blackberry leaf adds a faint green, tannic edge. The mouthfeel is full and warming at 45% ABV — present and rewarding without heat.

Finish Medium in length, pleasantly sweet, and citrus-driven. Kumquat and lemon curd lead the close — bright, slightly tart, and entirely distinctive — alongside a final whisper of chamomile warmth and pine resin that fades cleanly. The finish is one of Tulchan's most memorable characteristics: the kumquat note in particular is specific and unusual, a tasting detail that rewards the drinker who pays attention all the way to the end of the glass.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

The brand's own signature serve — Tulchan and tonic with a slice of orange — is the natural starting point: the elderflower and sloe berry botanicals bloom beautifully in a light, dry tonic, and the orange slice amplifies the citrus notes already present. Also exceptional in a 50:50 Martini as the brand recommends — the botanical complexity and 45% ABV hold their own against dry vermouth with genuine authority. An outstanding cold-weather gin that suits the Speyside estate spirit: think autumn afternoons, open fires, and salmon fishing. An exceptional gifting bottle for Scotch whisky lovers who appreciate Scottish provenance in their gin, for gin enthusiasts who want something genuinely estate-driven, and for any customer drawn by the striking deep blue bottle and tartan design. See cocktail suggestions below.

Cocktail Suggestions

Tulchan & Tonic (the signature serve) 2 oz Tulchan Gin · premium light dry tonic (Fever-Tree Light or East Imperial) · slice of fresh orange. Built over ice in a highball glass, gently stirred once. The estate botanicals — especially elderflower and sloe berry — open in the carbonation and add a fruity, floral dimension to the clean juniper backbone. The orange slice mirrors and amplifies the sweet orange peel already present in the botanical bill.

Tulchan 50:50 Martini (the brand's own recommendation) 1.5 oz Tulchan Gin · 1.5 oz dry vermouth · lemon twist. Stirred over ice, served up in a chilled coupe. The 50:50 ratio allows the botanical complexity — elderflower, chamomile, sloe berry — to come forward in conversation with vermouth's own botanical sweetness. A softer, more aromatic Martini than the standard dry version — beautifully suited to Tulchan's lighter-style London Dry character.

Spey Gimlet 2 oz Tulchan Gin · ¾ oz fresh lime juice · ½ oz elderflower liqueur. Shaken over ice, served up in a chilled coupe. The elderflower liqueur amplifies what is already present in the gin's botanical profile — lime mirrors the citrus brightness on the nose — and the result is a gimlet of gentle, floral complexity that is distinctly more Scottish and aromatic than the classic format typically delivers.

Tulchan Sloe Sour 2 oz Tulchan Gin · ¾ oz fresh lemon juice · ½ oz sloe berry syrup · optional egg white. Shaken hard over ice, served up or over a single cube. Sloe berry syrup echoes the estate's own sloe berry botanical — lemon amplifies the kumquat and lemon curd finish notes — and the egg white version creates a pale foam that carries the elderflower and chamomile aromatics beautifully on approach. A cocktail built entirely around what the Speyside estate provides.

Heather Negroni 1 oz Tulchan Gin · 1 oz Campari · 1 oz sweet vermouth · orange twist. Stirred over ice, served over a large cube. A Scottish take on the Negroni — Tulchan's floral, fruity character and clean juniper play against Campari's bitterness in a combination that is softer, more aromatic, and more fruit-forward than a standard London Dry Negroni. The elderflower and sloe berry notes bridge the orange bitterness with unexpected elegance.

Tulchan Tom Collins 2 oz Tulchan Gin · 1 oz fresh lemon juice · ½ oz simple syrup · chilled soda water · lemon wheel. Built over ice in a tall glass. The most refreshing long serve — the estate citrus botanicals carry through the Collins format beautifully, and the soda amplifies the lemongrass and elderflower notes into something clean, bright, and deeply refreshing. A natural summer or aperitivo serve.