Barra Atlantic Gin
The adventurous spirit of the Barra people inspires our unique gin. Our award-winning Barra Gin is distilled from 17 specially selected botanicals, capturing the essence of our beautiful home. Born from the island, with our key botanical hand foraged from the shores that surround our island home on the edge of the Atlantic. Every drop of our Island spirit distilled, bottled and labelled right here on the Isle of Barra, from our family distillery.
ISLAND BORN, FEARLESS SPIRIT.
CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF BARRA
The new vessel and the term vessel is an appropriate word as the connection from the Isle of Barra to the sea is endless, as is our relationship with the sea to our award-winning Gin. We have moved away from using a stock bottle made from 100% flint glass to creating our very own custom-designed bottle but instead, our new bottles are produced from 52% recycled glass.
With the move to such a high percentage of recycled glass, each bottle varies and can't be the same, and we feel this is part of the character. It feels like each bottle represents all the different characters from our Island home, all different, all with their story to tell. The bottle weight has been reduced by 17%, but crucially the distance from Allied Glass to the Isle of Barra Distillers is now 406 miles. This is now 382 miles less than our previous supplier, helping our Family Distilleries' carbon footprint. Most importantly, it is now 100% plastic free and 100% recyclable.
HOW WE MAKE OUR ISLAND SPIRIT
Our Island Spirit begins its journey in "Ada" — our custom-built copper still, handcrafted by the world-renowned Forsyths of Rothes. Named after our co-founder's daughter, Ada is as fiery and spirited as the still itself — a true symbol of our Family Distillery.
Distilled with care by our local distiller, our gin captures the essence of the Outer Hebrides. It’s crafted using 17 carefully selected botanicals, with sustainably hand-foraged Carrageen seaweed from our island shores at its heart — the defining ingredient that brings our Barra Atlantic Gin to life.
We use a vapour infusion method, placing our botanicals in two baskets inside Ada. As the spirit reaches the optimal temperature, vapour passes through the botanicals, gently extracting essential oils and flavours with precision — each botanical weighed to the gram. Unlike most distillers, we discard the heads and tails of each distillation run, keeping only the pure heart of the spirit. Though this method is more costly, it ensures a crisp, smooth, and premium quality gin.
Once distilled, we allow the spirit to rest for seven days, giving the flavours time to develop and settle. Finally, every bottle of our award-winning Barra Atlantic Gin is hand-labelled, bottled, and shipped from our distillery on the Isle of Barra — from our home to your hands, a true labour of love.
CELEBRATE HOME, WITH FAMILY TO THE FORE
The sea that surrounds our Island home, the air that we breathe, the rich maritime history that is rooted in the isle, and the people who live here, this is our inspiration. The Isle of Barra is undoubtedly an island of paradise, from its tropical blue sea to its vivid green land and pristine white sands, it really does have it all, including a unique castle-island and the world’s only beach airport! Our spirits fearlessly embody our place. Our signature Atlantic Gin’s defining botanical is harvested by hand in the shallow waters of the shoreline.
Each piece of our key botanical is hand picked from the shores that surround our island home, creating a bold flavour, rich in maritime notes.
Our signature botanical, the carrageen seaweed, is what makes our gin special. Also known by its scientific name chondrus crispus, carrageen seaweed is a red algae native to the cool Atlantic waters skirting europe’s rocky coastlines, including our beautiful Isle of Barra.
Like many of the other seaweed varieties found on the Scottish coast, carrageen is harvested after the spring tides, when the water is furthest from the shore. Once harvested, each piece of carrageen seaweed is washed through with fresh water and left outdoors for 5-6 weeks for the wind and sun to dry or ‘bleach’ as it is known on Barra. Once the carrageen has dried and has changed colour to a light white/purple it is then ready to be used to create our award-winning spirit, the Barra Atlantic Gin.
This is our passion for our Island home, our Family Distillery and our Barra Atlantic Gin. Created with the essence of Barra at its core, our Barra Atlantic Gin is distilled using locally hand-harvested Carrageen Seaweed that is sourced sustainably from the shores that surround our Island home.
The idea for using the Carrageen seaweed came from the abundance around the Island, as well as from Michael's childhood. Carrageen grows out of the ancient rocks that make up the Island's coastline, which can only be sourced when the tide is at its lowest point, which is only a few times a year. The Carrageen is full of flavour, medicinal properties, and minerals.
"Both my grandparents and my mother have used Carrageen for ailments such as stomach aches as a tonic. It was always soothing and tasty, bringing back wonderful childhood memories, " stated Co-Founder & Managing Director Michael Morrison.
17 Handpicked botanicals
Each botanical plays an important part in our gin, which creates a unique and distinctive flavour that embodies the fearless Island spirit.
Carrageen Seaweed
Foraged from the shores of our remote Isle of Barra, Carrageen seaweed provides a bold, maritime flavour, with a mentholic lean and a pinch of salty air.
Our beautiful home
The marriage between our island home and the expansive sea that surrounds Barra’s rugged coastline is hidden in every bottle of Barra Atlantic Gin.
Barra Atlantic Gin
The adventurous spirit of Barra people inspires our unique gin. Our main botanical, carrageen seaweed, is collected wild on the shores of the Isle of Barra. We want to create something that not only we can be proud of but that the wider Barra community can be proud of, giving back to our thriving island home.
Our award-winning Barra Atlantic Gin is now available in Waitrose & Partners branches across the UK. Our Island Spirit from the Outer Hebrides has been chosen for distribution by a UK-wide supermarket. Check our stockist map for your local Waitrose & share the taste of Barra.