The Herb Garden (Secret Garden Distillery)

The Secret Garden Distillery is a family-owned, women-run, premium craft distillery located on a 7.5-acre nature preserve and herb garden at the foot of the Pentland Hills south of Edinburgh, Scotland. The only UK distillery with a fully functioning botanical garden, the focus is not only on aesthetics, but also sustainability (bottle glass is 70% recycled, plants are harvested by hand, no pesticides or herbicides are used, and they hope to be carbon negative by 2030). And while the brand has evolved significantly since the land was first purchased by previous owner Hamish Martin in 2012 (the distillery was founded in 2017) and later sold to Kate Armstrong and her daughters, Imogen and Isobel, the core “seed-to-sip” philosophy has remained largely unchanged. These are classic, elegant Scottish garden gins, born in a real Scottish garden.

With over 600 botanicals grown on site (highlighted by expansive rose beds and an apiary, all navigated by splendidly overgrown paths), it would almost seem a shame not to make a gin here. The Secret Garden Distillery (formerly known as the Old Apothecary Distillery) crafts spirits that celebrate the exceptional variety and vibrance of what a healthy garden yields.  Creative distillation, guided by a deft touch and a sure-footed sense of what gins can and cannot do, leads to a finished product that is shot through with bright swaths of distinctive flavors, balanced as in nature, and true to its beautiful home.