The Botanist: Frequently Asked Questions

The Botanist is an Islay Dry Gin, conceived and distilled at Bruichladdich Distillery, and produced under the same roof as our three single malt brands. We aim to create the most thought provoking spirits possible and as progressive Hebridean Distillers, that includes producing four different and unique spirits from one distillery:

Bruichladdich, our unpeated Islay single malt Scotch whisky
Port Charlotte, our heavily peated Islay single malt Scotch whisky (40PPM)
Octomore, the world’s most heavily peated Scotch whisky, released annually (80+PPM)
The Botanist, the first Islay Dry Gin

The Botanist Gin, the first Islay dry gin, was created 10 years after Bruichladdich Distillery was brought back to life in 2001. Leveraging the depth of whisky-making and distillation experience at the distillery, a reclaimed and modified whisky still and the expertise of two then-retired foragers, The Botanist was born.

When we set out to create The Botanist, we wanted to capture the essence of what it’s like to be on Islay. Former Master Distiller, Jim McEwan tasked two local botanists, Dr Richard and Mavis Gulliver to scour the hills, moors and shores of Islay to find local botanicals growing in abundance. From the selection that they brought Jim, he selected 21 botanicals that would allow him to achieve palate he was searching for for The Botanist. One more botanical was added to the 21 – Islay juniper. Threatened to near extinction on Islay, Jim added a symbolic sprig to the distillation in order to draw attention to its plight. From there, Bruichladdich Distillery embarked upon a juniper re-introduction programme, searching for the illusive tree on Islay and propagating to ensure future population health.

Islay has an incredible amount of diversity for a small island. Hills, moorland, ancient woodland and endless shorelines mean that plant and animal life can be found in abundance. The 22 botanicals selected for inclusion in The Botanist can be found across this array of landscape. Two full-time professional foragers pick a little from a lot of areas, monitoring the health of the populations via a digital mapping system. Bruichladdich Distillery has an agreement with every estate owner on Islay, which means that we can forage across the island.

We fully support individuality when it comes to consumption, so there is no set way or singular way to enjoy The Botanist. It all comes down to how much you want to explore! What we will say is that The Botanist's distinct but delicate flavour, balanced taste profile and complexity means it lends itself incredibly well to spirit-forward cocktails that highlight the individual botanicals, like the historical martini.

Less can also often be more – and The Botanist’s complexity of spirit and flavour allows it to be used in even the simplest of serves with impact. Whether that is creating a Botanist and Tonic or Botanist and Soda, or a take on the classic Negroni, see where it takes you.

For further inspiration and cocktail recipes, please visit our Martini or Simple Serves pages.

It all comes down to personal preference! The Martini is a deeply personal experience, with different ratios and garnishes appealing to different palates. Whatever martini you look to make for yourself or others, temperature, time and taste are key. For six classic martini recipes and some useful tips in creating the perfect martini at home, please visit our Martini page.

Bruichladdich Distillery is situated on the southwestern tip of the island of Islay, in the Scottish Hebrides. You can find us at the below address, visit the shop or book a tour or cocktail experience.

Our distillery opening hours are 10:00 - 17:30, seven days a week from April until the end of October and 10:00 – 17:30 Monday – Saturday from November to end March.

Address:
Bruichladdich Distillery,
Isle of Islay, Argyll, Scotland,
United Kingdom.
PA49 7UN

The distillery was first established in 1881 by the Harvey brothers and survived through periods of closure, including world wars and economic uncertainty. In 1994, Bruichladdich distillery closed again for what looked to be for good. Only two of the team at that time continued on site, protecting the property and importantly, safeguarding the casks maturing there.

Bruichladdich Distillery was resurrected in 2001 by Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin, bringing a wealth of experience in the world of wine, along with Jim McEwan, a long established expert in the whisky world and our previous Master Distiller. With the aim of breathing new life into the community and taking direct inspiration and influence from the land (bringing concepts more common in the wine world such as terroir to our whisky making), the new Bruichladdich aimed to keep as much of the operations on Islay as possible.

The Botanist Gin was created 10 years after Bruichladdich Distillery was brought back to life in 2001. Leveraging the depth of whisky-making and distillation experience at the distillery and the expertise of two then-retired foragers, The Botanist was born; embodying the same values and purpose established over the previous decade.

In 2020, we became one of the only distilleries in the world to be B Corp certified, recognising our ongoing approach and ethos in terms of balancing profit and purpose. Our mission is to create the most thought provoking spirits we can while continuingly growing our commitment to people and the planet to ensure we use our business as a force for good.

Bruichladdich is a word that we know isn't necessarily the easiest to approach. It can be pronounced in its simplest form as 'brook-laddie'. Bruichladdich comes from the Scottish Gaelic 'Bruthach a' Chladaich' and the village in which the distillery is situated bears the same name.

The Bruichladdich name comes from the Scottish Gaelic 'Bruthach a' Chladaich', which means brae by the shore. Our distillery is situated right on the banks of Loch Indaal, in the village of Bruichladdich, so this speaks true to this day.

At The Botanist, we are committed to offering you the best possible experience whenever and wherever you engage with us, in person and online. We have updated the design of the current website and are hosting it on a new platform so that we can bring you an improved offering - from our latest news and cocktails content, to our products and any purchases you make with us. We are continually updating the site with new products, content and functionality, but if there is something specific you are looking for, please don't hesitate to Contact Us.

We have taken the opportunity to update the design of our website and have archived some of our older website content. Don't worry, we'll be re-introducing a lot of our archive content and editorial features over time. If there is something specific you are looking for or can't wait to reappear, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.

Yes you can. We are open seven days a week from 10.00am - 5.30pm from April to October, moving to Monday to Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm from the end of October through to the end of March. There are different tour experiences on offer to suit different tastes and we are always ready to welcome you at the Laddie Shop, where you can buy releases from The Botanist and our three single malts, alongside accessories, merchandise and gifts.

You can book a tour here or if you would like to speak to someone, you can call our team at the distillery: Tel. +44 (0)1496 850 190. We currently offer a one hour The Botanist Distilled experience and a 1.5 hour interactive Cocktail Masterclass for The Botanist, alongside our other guided Distillery Tour and Warehouse Experience.

If you are looking to arrange a VIP experience or media visit, please Contact Us and one of our team will be able to discuss your requirements.

We don't have a café or a restaurant on site but our team are always here to help point you in the direction of local amenities and offer recommendations. We are situated on the banks of Loch Indaal and at the beginning of the Loch Indaal way, connecting the village of Bruichladdich to Port Charlotte, with places to enjoy a picnic or refreshment with a view (subject to weather!).

We always aim to bring a compelling catalogue of products at any one time, available for you to purchase direct from The Botanist. If a product is no longer available but still featured on the website, we will list it clearly as Out of Stock. If something is only temporarily out of stock but further stock will become available, we will make this clear for each product it applies to.

Sometimes specific items can sell out. If a product is going to come back into stock, we will feature it as Temporarily Out of Stock.

We regularly share news from The Botanist and the distillery - including new releases -in our email newsletter. You can sign up to our newsletter here.

The Botanist Hebridean strength edition is available exclusively in travel retail in the following airports: Frankfurt Airport, Hamburg Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Munich International Airport, Copenhagen Airport, Vienna International Airport, Sydney Airport and Istanbul Airport. You will also be able to find it in our distillery shop.

You can pay for Products purchased from the Site by using any of the following cards: Visa, Mastercard, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, Maestro/Switch and American Express as well as Apple Pay. We do not accept payment by cheque.

Depending on your location the goods purchased by you will be despatched to you by the method of delivery taking into account the day of your order as follows:

UK - up to 7 working days
EU – up to 14 working days
R.O.W – 14 to 20 working days

For further information on shipping, including the countries that we ship to and any restrictions on the products available, please refer to our separate Shipping Information page.

Yes, we are happy to provide a VAT receipt for your order on request. This can be sent to you via email or post.

Once you have placed your order we will email you to confirm that it has been received. When your order has been dispatched from our warehouse we will send an additional email to let you know that it’s on its way to you.

We hope that each of our customers is satisfied with their order from The Botanist, but should you wish to cancel your order for any reason then please follow the process below:

To cancel, you must let us know in writing within 14 days of receiving your delivery. Please contact our customer service team at thebotanist@mailmarkuk.com and return your order in the same packaging and condition that it was received. Items are returned to us at your own cost and risk. Once received, a full refund will be issued to you (including VAT, but excluding shipping costs) in accordance with our refunds policy.

If for any reason you are not happy with your order from us and wish to return an item for any reason, please follow the returns process below:

If you would like to return or exchange an unwanted item then please contact us within 14 days of delivery. Items are returned to us at your own cost. Once we have received the item we can either refund the cost of the item (including VAT but excluding shipping costs), or send out a replacement item in exchange.

If your product is damaged or faulty, this must be reported to us within 14 days of delivery. Please contact our customer service team at thebotanist@mailmarkuk.com with details (including photographic evidence).

If the item has been damaged during transit, or if there is an issue with the product label or the quality of the product then we will arrange for the item to be collected by one of our logistics partners and will send you a return label and packaging, if required. Once we have received the item we will then send out a replacement item or arrange a refund. Refunds will include delivery charges.

If you wish to return any part of the order you placed with us, please follow the steps below. You are able to arrange return of the full order or any specific item, subject to the following:

If you would like to return or exchange an unwanted item then please contact us within 14 days of delivery. Items are returned to us at your own cost. Once we have received the item we can either refund the cost of the item (including VAT but excluding shipping costs), or send out a replacement item in exchange.

If your product is damaged or faulty, this must be reported to us within 14 days of delivery. Please contact our customer service team at thebotanist@mailmarkuk.com with details (including photographic evidence).

If the item has been damaged during transit, or if there is an issue with the product label or the quality of the product then we will arrange for the item to be collected by one of our logistics partners and will send you a return label and packaging, if required. Once we have received the item we will then send out a replacement item or arrange a refund. Refunds will include delivery charges.

For any questions relating to an order that you have placed or are looking to place, please email thebotanist@mailmarkuk.com. or you can reply to your order confirmation email. The global online distillery shop is operated by Mail Marketing (UK) Limited.

For all other queries, please email contactus@thebotanist.com and one of our Bruichladdich Distillery team will come back to you as soon as possible.

If you are looking to visit us at the distillery on Islay, you can book a tour here or call the distillery direct on (+44) 01496 850190.

Our distillery opening hours are 10:00 - 17:30, seven days a week from April until the end of October and 10:00 – 17:30 Monday – Saturday from November to end March.